Technical Difficulties
by Azuki Rose
Summary: Modern AU. Korra is on her way to college one day when her car breaks down. That also happens to be the day Asami Sato steps into her life. Over time their friendship turns into something more, and the two come to realize there's always technical difficulties along the way. Korrasami. (cover art by Dilutra)
1. Chapter 1

**hey there everyone, it's azuki rose. this is just a little story i've wanted to write for a while now, after having a desire to write a korrasami fanfic over the summer. i'm not exactly sure how everything is going to go, but i just thought i'd give things a shot and see how the story progresses from here. it's an au set in modern times, with a little mixture of things from the actual series added in. hopefully it turns out alright, so i hope you enjoy it. :)**

* * *

 **How It All Started**

I've been attending college for maybe about a month now.

To be completely honest with you, it's pretty much the same thing as going to high school. High school was alright, I'll admit that. Things haven't changed much though since graduating. One thing I'm really gonna miss about high school is seeing my buddies Mako and Bolin everyday. We've known each other since we were kids, and we were lucky enough to attend high school together all four years. Then it turned out to be the end of the road for us after we graduated.

Not that I don't see them anymore. I just don't see them _as much_. And I'm kinda one for being shy, so I have a bit of a hard time making friends. In a way, I was worried about going to college because of that.

In attempt to help me make some new friends, my mom suggested I join one of those clubs that the colleges always want new freshman to join; she thought it'd be a 'swell idea'. And yeah, those were her actual words.

So okay. Here I am now, about a month after I've started my first semester of college. I'm working on this paper I've got due for my American History class, and I'm bored as heck.

 _Bzzz. Bzzz._

I check my phone. It's Opal, just as I thought.

Opal happens to be the only new friend I've made so far, but that's only thanks to the club I joined when I attended orientation.

Yeah, you're probably wondering what kind of club did I join, exactly? Well, I'm glad you asked. I've always loved the water for some reason, and because of that I've done swimming for most of my short-lived life. Uh-huh, you guessed it.

I joined the swimming club.

Opal was also a new student who joined the swimming club and didn't know anyone else either, so we hit it off pretty well. Opal's really great too; she's super nice, and she always makes sure to find me on days we attend classes so that we can head off to swim practice together.

Last week I suggested she come with me to go meet up with Mako and Bolin after swim practice; we were going to have dinner together at this new Italian place that opened up in town. Turns out Opal and Bolin also hit it off really well too, and now I think they've kinda got a thing for each other.

I sigh and drop my pencil, picking up my phone to check Opal's text.

 **Opal:** _hey, whatcha doing right now? :)_

 **Me:** _ugghhh… dying, that's what. T-T_

 **Opal:** _oh, working on that paper you've got due? that sucks._

 **Me:** _tell me about it. anything i can do for you? :o_

 **Opal:** _uh, well, i was just wondering if you and bolin and mako were gonna hang out again this weekend?_

 **Me:** _idk. i've got a lot of work to do with all these classes. but i'll let you know if something comes up, alright?_

 **Opal:** _sure! good luck on your paper - you're gonna need it. ttyl, girlie. ;)_

I grin and put my phone back on the desk. Yep, she's totally got a thing for Bolin. I'm glad they're getting along swimmingly. Hehe, I even inserted a pun there…

A few minutes later I check the alarm clock on my nightstand and my eyes shoot open - what, 11:27 already?! Wow, I really should get to bed if I have to get up early tomorrow. I'll try to finish the paper later when I have more time.

* * *

"Korra. Korra. _Korra!_ "

I open my really exhausted, heavily drooping eyelids to find my mom standing by the side of the bed with my dog Naga sitting next to her. Naga's tongue is hanging goofily out the side of her mouth and her tail is wagging, looking totally happy and carefree.

Unlike my mom.

"Uh, hi Mom," I say, looking up at her. "What are you doing in my room so early?"

"You better get up Missy, it's not early anymore. You've been sleeping in for the past half hour! I thought something might have been wrong, so I came up to check on you. And you were _still sleeping_."

I reach under my pillow and grab my phone, turning it on. 7:36. Oh crap oh crap oh crap -

I leap out of bed with what minimal clothing I have on, much to my mother's dismay as I push her out the door. "Oh crap, I'm gonna be late! Get out, Mom, I've gotta change!"

"Korra, is that all you wear to sleep?!"

I shut the door before she can ask me any more questions and run over to my dresser where I pull out a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. Naga watches me as I get dressed, still not quite sure what's going on. After I do my hair in my signature wolf's tail I grab all my books, stuff them in my bag, and fly down the stairs. There's a bunch of fruit sitting on the counter and I swear, missing breakfast is something I literally hate doing, so I grab whatever produce I can and make my way to the door, where I slip on my flip-flops.

"You're gonna be late, Korra!" I hear my mom shout down the hall, and I slam the door behind me.

"Shush already, woman! I'm going as fast as I can, okay?" I yell behind me. Thanks for the vote of confidence, mom…

My car's out in front of the house, so it's pretty convenient. Unlocking my little four-seater hand-me-down I throw my bag onto the passenger seat, wedging a large apple into my mouth at the same time. Hey, a girl's gotta eat.

I close my eyes as I turn the key in the ignition. Please turn on, please turn on, please turn on…

The car's engine hums to life after a few moments, and I pump a fist into the air in relief. "Yes, it's working today!"

For some reason my parents gave me this really old car as a grad present, and I gotta say I love the vehicle they gave me - except for the part where it's kinda hard to start sometimes, along with it having the occasional breakdown. Do not love those parts. But it's all I've got for now, so it's not really my place to complain.

Pulling out of the driveway is easy, and I quickly zoom off down the road. My college isn't too far away, so it shouldn't take long to get there. I briefly consider taking the freeway, but decide against it since the later it is the more jammed it usually gets. I check my phone again - 7:45. Damn, I'm good. If I take the back roads, I can probably still make it to my class on time, since it starts at 8:00. Alright, I got this.

No sooner than do I entered the final stretch of back roads that I hear a familiar sputtering sound coming from my car. No, not now!

The car slowly comes to a halt as I pull over to a curb, finding myself in front of a small coffee shop along the roadside.

"Great," I mumble, getting out of my car and closing the door. I probably won't make it on time after all, unless I leave my car here and make a run for it. Eh, wait. Even if I did that, I'd probably still be late. I guess it's not really the end of the world; I don't have any tardies or absences anyways, since it's still the beginning of the semester. Plus, I really don't want to leave my helpless little car out her in the middle of nowhere… Nope, no can do. I'd be without a ride to school if someone managed to steal my ride.

From what my dad told me, there's something wrong with the engine and crap, so I head to the front and pop the hatch. What I come to find is a lightly smoky, barbeque-y aroma floating up from this funky-looking box that I don't have the faintest idea of what it is. The engine? The radiator? The jukebox? Okay, scratch that last one, I'm just kidding. But seriously, I have no idea where to start. I wish I would have paid more attention when my dad was showing me how to fix it…

I cross my arms and huff in annoyance at my own stupidity. Way to go, Korra.

"Do you need any help?"

I whirl around, surprised to hear a voice so close to me. I must have been really concentrating (which rarely happens, haha) on this hunk of junk to not realize someone had come over to me while I was studying the car.

I'm about to answer when I see who it is.

There, right in front of me, is an absolutely gorgeous girl. Her hair is a beautiful black sea of wavy lusciousness (kinda like those girls from the Pantene commercials), and she has pale porcelain skin. The small smile on her face is accentuated by a pair of lips as red as Twizzlers, but the most stunning thing about her I'd have to say is her eyes.

They're a bright, vivacious emerald green, and I can't help but be drawn into them.

"Uh, is everything alright?" the girl asks, setting a cup of coffee she had been holding in her hands on the curb of the sidewalk with a laugh.

"Oh, uh, yeah - I mean, no! I mean -" I try, doing my best to refocus on the situation at hand. I can feel my face heating up as I stutter. The girl only smiles at me, and there's a little hint of amusement in her eyes that only makes me blush harder.

I take a deep breath and exhale. "Uh, yeah, I'm kinda having some car trouble," I chuckle, trying not to seem too tense.

"Yeah, I could see that," she replies as she moves in a bit closer, looking at the jumble of tubes, metal and whatnot. She gives everything a good looking over before nodding and placing her hands on her slim waist. "Yep, that's what I thought it was."

Sort of confused (okay, very confused), I frown. "Uh, what was?"

"Well, as you can see this engine here is a bit old. Really old, actually. Because of that, the…" was all I hear from the other girl as I fall into a trance again, watching as she points out all the different parts of my car that need work and what might need some fixing. In other words, pretty much everything, I think.

"I can help you get it started again, if you'd like."

I quickly avert my eyes from her face and back to the engine where I nod, pretending I was thinking over all the stuff she had just said. But really, I didn't understand anything she had so kindly tried explaining to me. It's a curse I seem to have, when people put all of their heart and soul into trying to teach/show/explain to me something and it just kinda goes in one ear and completely out the other. Me and my stupidity. "Wow, uh, thanks - that'd be awesome," I smile at her.

"I'm Asami, by the way," the girl extends a hand to me, and I nervously take it.

"Korra."

"It's nice to meet you, Korra. I'm sorry if you kinda blanked out there when I was talking to you about your car - I'm kinda a mechanics nerd, so I tend to bore people to death whenever I open my mouth and begin talking about vehicles and such. You see, I'm going to college to become an engineer."

My eyes open a bit wider than they were previously. "You want to be an engineer? Wow, that's so cool!"

"You think?" she says somewhat abashedly, and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. "People always tell me that mechanics and engineering is something that really doesn't fit my image," Asami laughs, and I can't help but giggle too. "But then again, whenever did I ever listen to what people say? Anyways, I'd better get to work on your car; you look like you're a girl who's trying to get somewhere."

* * *

Asami got to work on my car right away. I'm surprised at how swiftly and efficiently she moves; her fingers hover expertly over different areas of the machinery, at times picking at something here or organizing something there. Fascinated, I can't help but watch in amazement.

"Wow, it really looks like you really know your engineering stuff," I say, leaning over the side of car and smiling up at her. She's busy toying with the weird box in front that that been smoking like a stoner earlier.

"Yep," Asami replies, straightening up and brushing some hair away from her eyes. There's some grease on her fingers, and I feel a little bad that she's going through all this trouble just to help me get my car started again. "It's what I do."

Asami goes back to work. There's a part of me that doesn't want to stop talking to her though, and I find my mouth moving again even though she probably could use the silence instead of having to listen to an idiot. This is _so_ totally unlike me. "So, uh, are you new here? I don't think I've seen you around before."

"Yeah, actually, I am," Asami rubs her hands together before placing them on the rim of the cars hatch. Her mesmerizing green eyes have me at a loss, and I swallow the lump that had somehow formed in my throat. "I just moved here with my dad last week."

"That's neat," I say as coolly as possible. "Where are you from?"

"I'm from up in Washington," Asami grins back at me. I guess that explains the pale skin? "My dad owns Future Industries, and he decided we should make another headquarters down here in California, since there's not one here yet -"

I wave my arms in front of my face frantically, stopping Asami in her tracks. "Wait, wait, wait - Your dad - owns Future Industries?" I ask, my voice raising with excitement. "That's like, one of the biggest and most famous tech companies here in the US!"

Asami only laughs, and I stare back at her, completely bewildered. How can this girl act like being the daughter of a billionaire is nothing? It sounds pretty frickin' amazing to me!

"So it is." Asami's crimson lips curl up into a smile.

"You don't sound too enthusiastic about it, though."

Asami sighs. "Sometimes it gets a little hard being the daughter of the owner of one of the biggest technology companies in the world. You know, my dad's always busy with business and everything, and we used to move around a lot when I was younger because he had to establish other offices in different locations and such." She looks down at the inside of my car and shrugs, twisting one of the little caps back onto an opening near the box thingy. She closes the hatch shut and looks back up at me with another curious smile on her face.

"My dad said we're staying here for a while though, because he's planning to make this headquarters one of the more major ones. I'm pretty excited - California seems like a pretty sweet place so far. Hopefully I'll get to settle in and make some friends now too, haha," she laughs.

I'm about to tell her I'd love to show her around when my phone vibrates in my pocket.

 **Opal:** _korra, where are you? class started a while ago, and you're still not here._

Oh crap, I think, biting my lower lip. Asami seems to notice my distressed state and frowns, taking a step closer.

"Is something wrong?"

I quickly make my way over to the car door and open it, placing my phone in the cup holder on the side. Damn. I can't believe I forgot I had to get to class. I guess I got too caught up in talking to Asami.

"Nah, I just forgot I had to get to class," I say with a wave of my hand. "My friend's buggin' me about being late."

"Oh, I see." Asami nods. She suddenly looks kind of glum. "Well, it was nice talking to you, Korra."

"Same here," I say. "Thanks so much for fixing my car too - Uh, is there anything I can give you in return? I'll pay you, if you want." I begin reaching into my pocket where I know I have a spare twenty or so. I hope.

"No, that's fine," Asami kneels down to pick up her coffee cup before walking over to the driver side of the car, where I am. "I don't need the money. Plus, I like helping people when it comes to fixing cars and stuff."

"..." My mind is blank. I don't really have anything to repay her then, do I? Wait, maybe she likes fruit…

Asami chuckles at my currently distressed state. "You really want to pay me back, don't you?"

I can only nod. Words are too hard to form in my mind when I'm trying to process in my little brain what _the_ Asami Sato, daughter of _the_ Hiroshi Sato, owner of _the_ world famous tech company Future Industries, would like in return for fixing a knuckleheads car.

"You could give me your number. I'll settle for that."

I squint at the girl across from me, wondering if I heard right. My number? She wants my number? "You - You want my n-number?" I think I need hearing aids.

"Yeah, if you wouldn't mind. Maybe you could show me around when you're free sometime? It'd probably be really fun, hanging out with you," Asami grins and takes a sip from her cup before wiping her hands on a napkin she pulled out of her pocket.

It takes me a few seconds to gather my bearings. The next thing I know, I'm handing Asami back her phone after typing in my phone number. I watch the absolutely stunning girl head off to a black convertible (Future Industries brand, of course) parked near the front of the coffee shop.

"So I guess I'll see you around sometime soon, right Korra?" Asami calls out across the distance cheerily before revving up the engine and backing out.

"Y-Yeah, sure thing!" I say, waving at her as she smiles warmly at me again.

"Great!" Asami waves back, and soon enough I'm watching her drive on down the street, her black convertible making a sharp curve around the corner.

My phone buzzes again, and I pick it up from out of the cup holder.

 **Opal:** _yoohoo~ you alive, korra?_

I text her back, a stupid grin on my face.

 **Me:** _no - i think i just died and went to heaven._

* * *

 **i apologize for adding that cheesy last line... but *inhales* i just couldn't resist, haha. please tell me how you liked it; i'll try to update as soon as i can. i'm currently sandwiched between college and work, but i'll do my best to find time for this story. i'm also working on another fanfic right now, but that one will probably take longer to update due to the issue of having longer chapters. in other words, this one will probably be updated more often.**

 **once again, thank you for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**okay, so here's the second chapter! it was a bit hard getting this one out; i got stung by a bee in one hand (so it was swollen for a few days) and i got cut with a plastic wrap container (i know, it's a stupid way to get hurt) with the other. it was a bit painful/hard to type for a while because of that. but in the end my love for korrasami conquered all, haha.**

* * *

 **Studying. Or Not**

"So tell me again," Opal says to me as we walk out of our class together.

I tried telling her about what happened earlier during the lecture through text, but it was getting kind of hard keeping it discreet because people kept on sending me funny stares every time my phone vibrated. Like I was being some kind of nuisance or something. Which in reality, I was. I figured it would be best just to tell Opal the whole thing later.

"You met this girl named Asami Sato, who's _the_ daughter of the owner/founder of Future Industries, when your car broke down on the way to school?" she asks.

"Yeah, that's what I've been trying to tell you!" I laugh. I don't know how many times I've told her since we've gotten out of class - and it's only been, like, two minutes since then.

"Wow, that sounds amazing! _The_ Asami Sato…" she mutters, eyes widening.

We stop walking for a brief moment by one of the patio tables of the campus cafe, both still trying to comprehend the fantasticalness of it all. Which is pretty fantastical, if I do say so myself.

I place my backpack down on the table and sigh happily, thinking about how cool it was to have met someone so - well, _cool_. I've got to be incredibly lucky for having my car break down by that coffee shop when Asami happened to be there.

I suddenly feel a powerful pat on my back and I lurch forward, bracing myself for another whack against the table.

"Dude, Korra - You've gotta introduce me to Asami sometime!" Opal continues pounding my back like I'm some kind of body builder that can take anything (okay, I don't wanna brag or nothing…), and I try nodding. All those days spent swimming laps in the pool are starting to pay off for Opal, I think. Dang she's strong.

After Opal stops pounding me like she's a demolitioner using a sledgehammer I shrug and smile. "I dunno - maybe sometime."

"Oh, come on!" Opal pleads, feigning a pitiful appearance.

"Well, I mean, I just met her, so it's not like we're best friends of anything," I start, and then I remember she also wants me to do her another favor. I smirk at her and raise an eyebrow. "Plus, you said you wanted me to invite you on the next outing I go on with Bolin, amiright?"

Opal's once perky grin falters. "Hey, you can't blackmail me with that!"

I raise up my hands in surrender. "Hey, I'm just sayin'. Why don't you just ask Bolin yourself if he wants to go do something with you? You have his number, don't you?"

"Yeah… It's just that…"

"Just what?"

"I'd be kind of embarrassed to ask him out, I guess."

I frown. I've never actually been in a position similar to Opal's, since I've never really fallen for someone as hard as her. I mean, sure, I've had those little crushes over the years here and there. But you know - nothing serious.

"Don't worry about it," I tell her. Now it's my turn to give her a pat on the back, only mine is a lot more gentler than her's was. That's because I'm nice like that. "Bolin's a cool guy, and he's always really chill. I've known him for years, so I know you've got absolutely nothing to worry about. 'Kay, Ope?"

Opal sighs and rolls her eyes playfully at me. "You know I really can't say no when you're giving me those puppydog eyes…"

"Great!" I chuckle. Heh, works every time. "Give Bolin a call sometime - I'm sure you two'll have fun hanging out."

"Yeah yeah…" Opal sets her bag's strap higher on her shoulder as she begins walking off. "I've gotta head to my next class. See you at swim practice, Korra."

"Right; see you then." I try a small wave, but Opal's back is already turned.

Shrugging, I sit down and pull out a few of my textbooks from my bag. I should probably continue working on that paper I still haven't finished; it's due early next week. If I don't get it done soon, I'll probably have to pull a few all-nighters close to the due date. And I hate doing that. It's utterly terrible for my complexion.

It's about lunchtime right now, so I decide to pull out some of the food I snagged this morning, continuing to study/cram/note information for my paper as I mindlessly munch away. Strangely enough, I notice that there's not many people out here at the cafe at this hour, even though it's close to lunchtime. The tables around me at the outside patio are pretty much empty, except for a couple of people scattered here and there. Compared to other days, this kind of atmosphere is very relaxing. Maybe I'll finally get this paper done.

I'm about to lower my head and get back to work when I see a slender figure make it's way into my line of sight, and it stops directly in front of me. I look up, meeting the person's bright green eyes. My heart stops.

"Korra? Is that you?"

Words are hard to force out of my mouth, but nonetheless I swallow and give a surprised smile, closing my textbook. "A-Asami-"

The Future Industries heiress makes her way over with ease, pulls out the chair across from me, and grins wide. "Wow, you didn't tell me you went to this school! What a coincidence! I've just enrolled here too!" Her vivid irises play across my face in fascination, and she's leaning in excitedly over the table. She's so close I can smell her perfume.

"U-Uh yeah… I guess I forgot to mention I went to California State, haha." I raise my arms in a friendly manner. "Surprise surprise!" Well, it's kind of late for saying that now...

"What classes do you have this semester?" Asami asks, resting a hand under her chin. She begins tracing circles on the table's top lazily, which I somehow find to be kind of distracting - but not in an annoying way.

I shove my attention away from Asami's fingers gently dancing over the table. "Well, I've got English, Trig, General Biology, and American History-"

"Is that what you're working on right now?" the engineer questions, motioning to the book splayed out in front of me.

"Yeah…" I sigh and give a crooked smile. "It's American History. I have a paper due next week, and I haven't even done crap on it."

"I see." Asami nods and smirks, and I wonder why she looks kind of devious all of a sudden. "You're one of those infamous procrastinators I hear so much about, aren't you?"

I try fighting back a blush. "I-I'm not a procrastinator!"

Asami chuckles, her eyes still on me.

After a few seconds of Asami staring at me I can't help but give in and tell the truth. "O-Okay, maybe I do procrastinate…"

"Haha, I thought so," Asami says. She sits back up straighter in her chair. "Well, it just so happens that I am a _non_ -procrastinator who specializes in many subjects, not just mechanical engineering."

I raise an eyebrow curiously. "What are you implying?"

"Maybe I could help you out on your paper? I haven't exactly started school yet; I'm just here to pick up my textbooks today. If you need some guidance on how to get started, I could probably give you a hand."

I can suddenly feel a literal weight being lifted off my shoulders. Man, this girl is an angel. "Are you serious?"

"Deadly."

"I-I don't know how to thank you…" I'm so happy I think I'm gonna cry. "I feel like I've asked you this before today," I laugh at the clicheness of it all, but Asami just smiles. "But is there anything I can do to pay you back? You've been super nice to me since we've met, and I haven't done anything significant for you yet. Except give you my number." I really appreciate her niceness and everything, but I feel like I should be able to give Asami something comparable in return too. You know what I mean?

Asami stands up, pushing in her chair back against the table. "All I want you to do is be my friend, really," Asami says with a giggle. "I don't know anyone else here yet except for you." There's a playful glint in her eyes, and is it just me, or did I just see her wink?

"Well, I'm off to go pick up my books. If you want me to help you on your paper, text me sometime; I should be around the vicinity. Maybe we could meet up somewhere and get some work done on it."

"I-I get done with swim at 5:30," I pipe up. The sooner I finish this paper the better.

"Great!" Asami's hands plant themselves on the table's rim, a dark curtain of black hair falling down her shoulder. She slides a long finger over the metal top. "Where do you want to meet?"

It doesn't take me too long to think of an answer. "How about my house? I can send you my address." After swim I usually head back home anyways, to take a shower and have dinner and everything before I get started on anything else I might have to do.

"Sure, whatever works best for you." Asami gently pushes herself off the table and turns on her heels, giving me a wave. "I'll see you around 6 o'clock then." She points a finger at me and narrows her eyes, giving me a fake glare. "No more procrastinating, alright?"

"Definitely," I say back to her, reopening my book and pretending to immerse myself in the sea of miniscule-lettered pages. "Definitely no more procrastinating for this girl. As of this moment, I am a new person." I pick out a banana from the depths of my backpack and peel it open, breaking a piece off and popping it into my mouth. I've got a lot of studying to do before swim practice.

* * *

"Were you late today?" my mom asks as I step into the kitchen. I'm vigorously rubbing my head with a small hand towel after my shower, trying to dry off my wet hair so that I don't accidently slip and kill myself. Hey, it's almost happened once before. And I'm not about to risk terminating my life by doing the splits on some wet hardwood floor again.

"Uh, just a little. But it's no biggie, I'll make sure it doesn't happen again," I say as I open up the fridge. There's a bit of some Chinese takeout that we picked up yesterday, and it's the bomb. Completely amazing. Well, after you heat it up, that is. So let me go do that. Heading over to the microwave right now.

"Good for you." Is all my moms says as her head turns back down to continue reading the book she has on the dinner table's top. My parents usually get home a little earlier than I do, and when they do, they're either relaxing after a hard day at work or doing some more work. Yes. Work after work. I know it seems redundant, but that's just life.

"Hey mom," I pull out the plate I stuck in the microwave. "I have a friend I'm gonna have over later to help me with some homework, if that's fine, 'kay?"

"Today?"

"Yeah, today. That's fine, right?"

"Sure honey, just make sure you get your rest and everything. It's not a boy, right?"

I almost choke on the chow mein I'm currently inhaling. Why the heck does she automatically think it's a guy? I don't think I've had a boy over the house since I graduated from high school. And even then it was only Mako or Bolin. "-Ack- No mom, it's not a boy!"

"Alright, just making sure." She doesn't even look concerned that I almost died. Proves my parents love me a caboodle.

I head up to my room, the plate of chow mein (a.k.a. deliciousness) balanced with the utmost care in my palm, a fork swirling as much noodles as it can possibly hold in my other hand. Just as I'm about halfway up the stairs I hear a knock on the door. Aw crapballs… That's Asami, isn't it? Dude, where am I gonna put this food?

I debate placing the noodles on the stairs or sprinting to my room to put it on my desk. Asami would probably think I'm a weirdo if I look like I eat my dinner halfway between floors, and I could risk a fatality if I try to become an Olympic sprinter. So yolo.

My hand carefully wraps around the door handle and I open the door, finding a smiling Asami Sato standing outside.

"Hey."

"Uh, hey-" I stand the fork up in the pile of noodles. Oh god, I must look so stupid right now. My hair's probably a rat's nest and I'm holding a random plate of Chinese in my hand and I think my shirt might be see-through at the moment because it's white and the water probably seeped into it an-

"Chow mein, huh?"

"Yeah, haha - gotta love Chinese food." I laugh, embarrassed. God, I don't know why I feel so nervous around her most of the time (and I haven't even known her for 24 hours yet, not to mention it). I think she's probably messing with my blood pressure. I try changing the subject. "Why don't you come in? I was just about to head up to my room to eat this stuff," I say, giving the plate a lift.

"Sure, sounds fine to me," Asami makes her way in as I close the door behind her.

Up in my room I plop down on my bed and shove some more food into my mouth. "Want me to get you something to eat?" I say through a mouthful of chow mein, looking up at her. Sorry Asami, I'm just really hungry right now.

Asami places her bag on my bed and laughs at me and my chipmunk cheeks. "Sure, if it's not that much of a problem - I had some work to do before I came here, so I wasn't able to eat anything."

I place down the plate on the bed and jump up onto my feet, still trying to swallow the rest of the noodles in my mouth. "Alright, gotcha - I'll be right back, 'kay? Make yourself comfortable; my books are over there on the desk if you want to take a look at what I'm studying."

I come back a few minutes later and smile, seeing that Asami has made herself at home on the bed as she flips through the pages that I've bookmarked in the text and examining all those embarrassing scribbles/doodles I make on my paper when I get really bored. A bad habit I can't seem to shake, and Taylor Swift's song hasn't been helping either, even though it's supposed to be ultra-encouraging. Or so I thought.

"Okay, I'm back-"

"Oh hey."

That's when I notice Asami has a fork in her hand and a mouth full of noodles.

"..."

"I hope you don't mind, I was just really hungry and those noodles smelled _soooo_ good…" Asami's smile widens and she closes her eyes, slowly chewing on those chow mein noodles I so viciously crave. She peeks an eye open and looks over at me. Then she swallows. And then she grins devilishly. "Wanna share with me?"

I look down at the plate in my hand, and suddenly I feel like I've lost at something. At what, I don't know. All I can say is that this girl is more sly than she looks.

I don't really know what to say, except that now my fork has been in _the_ Asami Sato's mouth… Through those perfect, cherry red, probably incredibly soft lips… Damn, I think I'm blushing again.

"Uh, sure."

Asami smirks and hands the plate to me as I walk over to the bed, taking a seat beside her. "Here, we can get a start too on your paper while we eat, if you want."

"Y-Yeah." I'm holding the original plate in my palm, and I stare at the fork in my hand like it's some kind of alien. Am - Am I really gonna do this? _Can_ I really do this? Dear lord, I think I'm gonna do this. Breathe Korra, breathe. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale...

I slowly stick the fork in my mouth and bite down, easing my way into eating the chow mein off the same fork that Asami had previously used. I'm hoping Asami doesn't think I'm acting kind of strange, but since we haven't known each other too long, I don't think she'll realize there's anything wrong with me. Which, unfortunately, there is at the moment.

Asami begins to talk to me about the stuff I'm studying, the words flying off her tongue with so much ease I wish that she was my teacher instead of the professor I currently have. But if I think about it rationally, it still wouldn't change the fact that things kind of just go in one ear and out the other, haha…

"And so that's why there was such a controversy during that time period; make sense?" Asami points out on my paper.

Right now I'm working on adding in the information that Asami's explaining to me. Because we couldn't manage to curb our hunger with two plates we devoured the rest of the chow mein and what was left of the takeout after several trips downstairs and back, and now we're deep into almost finishing the rest of the paper I've got due. Yaaaaaaaas.

"I think it makes sense," I tell her. We're lying down on our stomachs on my bed; it's gotten kind of late, and even though it's only felt like a single hour, it's actually been a couple of hours. Now I know that my mom speaks the truth when she says time flies when you're having fun. Still don't know how that's possible; her idea of fun is completely different from mine.

And maybe I should also mention this: every time Asami turns to make eye contact with me, I can't bring myself to meet her stare or else I have trouble tearing myself away from those green eyes of hers.

"You sure?" Asami inquires, resting a hand on the side of her head as she props herself up on the bed.

I nod and smile. "Yep, totally sure." But then I have to hesitate. I look down again at what I'm writing on my paper and frown. "Uh, but maybe you should tell me the whole thing again just to make sure that I've got everything, I wasn't listening." Darn Lego Movie. I have to be a moron to find myself quoting sayings from it at a time like this.

Then there's Asami, her head cocked back as she laughs. She pulls her hair back in a bunch to one side of her shoulder, and looks me in the eyes again. There's a wet glint to her eyes, and I think she's actually crying. "Oh my god Korra - you're too much."

"Haha, I'm sorry, it's just that-"

There's a knock on the door and we both lift our heads.

"Korra, it's getting kind of late-"

Dear lord. It's the Terrible Twos.

"Is this your friend?" my dad asks, and I suddenly feel like I'm a little kid again. I hate it when my parents embarrass me like this.

"Uh, yeah," I answer, sitting up. "Mom, Dad, this is my friend Asami."

My mother smiles at Asami, who gives a small wave. "Nice to meet you, sweetie. We're Korra's parents."

"Nice to meet you as well," Asami says, standing up. "I'm sorry if it's getting late, I better head on home. I was just helping Korra out with a paper she had due; I hope I wasn't being a bother to you."

No Asami, don't leave! My parents are just being jicks. And yes, it's an actual word; I looked it up on Urban Dictionary.

"No, not at all, dear!" my mom says. "Feel free to stay longer; Korra's father and I were just checking up on her."

"Mom, I'm not a little kid!" I blush, and I know Asami is silently dying. I'm shaking an imaginary fist at them right now. Curse you, parents and your obligations to check up on your nineteen-year-old daughter like she's a toddler who needs constant supervision.

"We know, Korra," my dad laughs and waves a hand nonchalantly in my direction, causing me to frown again. "We'll be on our way to let you guys get back to doing whatever it was you were doing."

My dad is about to turn on back down the hallway when he looks over his shoulder. "Asami, take care of Korra, will you? She's a bit of an airhead."

I gasp in horror. "Hey, why wou-"

"I kind of already figured that out," Asami replies as my parents head off down the hall.

I swear I can hear my parents laughing evilly as they go down the stairs.

I glare up at Asami with the worst sinister face I can muster. Which must not have been that sinister because Asami immediately bursts out laughing again. Am I that bad at being bad?

"I can't believe how adorable you look right now," Asami chuckles as she covers her mouth with one hand and her stomach with the other.

Her words cause me to freeze in place, and halt my tongue from making a comeback that I can't seem to find in my mental catalog of smart aleck remarks. Just to let you know, the pages in that book are practically blank.

"W-What are you…" I grab a pillow from behind me that was resting on the backboard, and throw it in Asami's direction.

Unlucky me. The girl has incredible tiger-like reflexes (unlike me), and I find the pillow back in my own face a millisecond later, Asami's laughter echoing through my mind. Soon enough we've entered a full-on pillow fight, having completely forgotten about finishing the history assignment.

Like I said before; yolo.

* * *

 **i'd like to thank everyone who's faved/followed so far, and i'd also like to give a big thank you to all of you who have taken the time to review; your thoughts really brighten my day. :) i hope you also enjoyed this chapter too, seeing as how korra and asami are slowly (or maybe quickly?) getting closer. i have a bit of homework due next week, so i'm hoping i'll have enough time to get out another chapter. if not, you can expect one the following week.**

 **thanks for reading, and i'll see you next time!**


	3. Chapter 3

**phew... just got done printing out a million pieces of homework. *gags* not fun. i decided to post this chapter a bit earlier because i probably won't get the chance to do it tomorrow, so - surprise surprise! :D**

* * *

 **Not a Normal Saturday: Part 1**

Today is Saturday, thank god. I'll get to sleep in and get some well-deserved rest…

I toss some to reposition myself in the upturned sheets of my bed. I know it's probably around mid-morning right now, but I'm too lazy to pull myself out of bed. Instead I decide to take a quick look at my room, and crack open my eyes a bit to get a lay of the land. There's a nice stream of sunshine coursing through the blinds of my windows, and now I lazily prop myself up on my elbows. Damn, the room looks like a grenade blew up in it. I think I'll probably have to set aside a little time of my schedule today to clean it up.

You should know that there is a good reason for this kind of mass destruction incident. Asami and I spent the next few hours after working on the paper (yes, the battle was intensely intense and it took all of my willpower and skill to be able to plow through a couple more hours of wrestling without falling flat on my face asleep) engaging in the most dramatic pillow fight I have ever been in in my entire life.

It was fun, to say the least.

I know it might probably come as a surprise to many, but I really haven't done anything so - I don't know - childish?, yet _enjoyable_ , for the longest time. It was something that I really missed since I've started having to act more like an adult (even though I know that's never gonna happen, haha).

Mako and Bolin and I used to do silly things like that every now and then; we'd have lots of sleepovers, for instance. We'd usually switch off in going to each other's houses, and we'd always stay up late watching stuff like cheesy comedies while throwing skittles at the tv and dining on cold pizza. It was pretty much a weekly ritual for the three of us, and it continued on into high school as well. But sadly every good thing must come to an end.

I'll have you know that there was one, _teensy weensy_ little problem about hanging out so much with Mako and Bolin.

I don't do so well around girls, having hung out with boys for most of my life. I know, it's pretty pathetic.

But hey, now I've entered into college and met Opal, so I think that I'm heading in the right direction concerning making friends with other females.

And then after having entered college, leaving my endearing childhood memories with Mako and Bolin behind, and having met Opal, Asami Sato walked (or maybe more like waltzed?) into my life. Which was something I never would have dreamed of ever happening, to tell you the truth.

Just thought I'd give everyone a little background on my current situation here, just in case you were wondering why I became all sentimental of a sudden.

Okay. Fast forward back to the present. I'm about to lay my messy clump of bed head back onto the pillow when my phone begins to vibrate. I take a quick glance at my phone, which is sitting on my nightstand and squint at the screen with evil eyes. How dare you try to wake me up, phone.

There's nothing much I can do except answer the incoming call, and I pick up the phone off the nightstand to place it to my ear. Before I do so I manage to catch a glimpse of the caller's name. Oh hey, it's Bo.

"Heyyy~ wassup girl?"

I sit up in bed as I push back the ruffled covers, and give my eyes a quick rub. "Hey, Bo. I'm just getting up right now." I decide to yawn to give my sleepiness a little more emphasis.

I can hear Bolin click his tongue on the other side of the line in mock disappointment.

"Oh no no no… That won't do! Korra, it's Saturday - you can't spend the whole day in bed! You've got to get out and live a little!"

"I've been living a little, if that's what you mean. But if I don't get more sleep I might ending up not living at all, thank you very much."

Bolin sighs. "Aw, come on; you can't be _that_ tired. How about I pitch you an offer? Wanna come to the mall and hang out with me and Opal today?"

He sounds really excited, and I know that I absolutely can't say no to his request. I mean, he's going through all of this trouble to call me up and everything, and hey - maybe I can get something out of going to the mall, heh.

I pretend to think things over for a moment. "Hm… Alright. But you have to do me one thing."

"Anything you want, milady."

"You've gotta buy me lunch." Free food is what I live for. Literally.

"Done."

Awesome sauce. "What time are we planning on meeting at the mall?"

"Well, Opal and I were thinking around 12 o'clock, if that was fine with you?"

"Totally fine with me." A question suddenly pops into my mind, and I don't know why I didn't catch it before now. "Oh hey, isn't Mako coming too?"

"No… That dude thinks he's too cool for us now, haha," Bolin laughs, and I chuckle a bit.

"You serious?"

"Nah, I'm just joking. Mako had work and couldn't get out of it, so he said to go and have fun without him." There's a semi-depressing sigh again on the other side of the phone from Bo. "I'm gonna miss that poop…"

Thinking about not having Mako coming along with us to the mall is a little boring, and I almost want to sigh in depression along with Bolin just thinking about Mako's new job. The guy recently got himself an internship with the city police, and he's been working hardcore for a while. Staying up late and organizing paperwork and all that, usually 24/7. God only knows when he gets free time anymore.

I find myself zoning out and I take another glimpse around my slightly trashed room. Oh wait, hey now… "Hey Bo, is it fine if I invite a friend to come to the mall with us?" Wow, I am so proud of myself today - I feel like I'm having so many bright ideas popping into my head in such a short timespan that I'm on my way to becoming a super genius.

"Sure, why not?" is Bolin's reply, and I grin. "The more the merrier, I always say!"

"Awesome! Okay, I'll see you at the mall at 12, Bo."

I quickly end the phone call and swing my legs over the side of the bed. I really need to start getting ready if I want to make it to the mall on time, and especially if I want to ask Asami if she wants to come as well. Which I'm hoping she'll say yes to.

* * *

Me asking Asami if she wanted to come to the mall with me and Opal and Bo went just as I had hoped. She said yes. It was a little nerve-wracking though, having to speak with her on the phone. I've kinda always had this phobia of speaking to other people verbally by phone unless it was someone I've known since forever; so of course there are my two exceptions: Mako and Bolin. But for some reason I've always had an easier time talking to Bolin on the phone; I guess he's just more open and funny, so it makes me feel more comfortable. Mako's more the serious and emotionless cool guy, and Bolin and I always used to make fun of him and his straight face all of the time, telling him 'Hey, something wrong? You look like someone just shoved a stick up your butt hole!'. Then Mako would look over at us with those fiery eyes of his and make a pouty face as the two of us cackled like hyenas. Yeah, those were the good ol' days.

The part where I had to call up Asami wasn't the only hurdle I encountered on the way to the mall. I, for some reason, had a bit of trouble trying to decide what I was going to wear. And this is something that very rarely happens because I tend to not give a crap about what other people see me wearing.

After a bit of debating I finally settle for a pair of jeans and a tang top, with a small light blue cardigan to throw over it. Hey, we're getting into fall, so it might be kinda chilly out. You never know.

Because I am so good with time I manage to slip into my car at around 11:45 (and yes, that's sarcasm. I am _terrible_ at time when it comes to meeting up with friends). When I finally reach the mall I decide to pull into parking lot of the Starbucks that protrudes out of the side of the collaboration of shops, slowly scanning the parking lot for a familiar black convertible. I told Asami that I would meet her outside of Starbucks; she hasn't been to the mall before, and Starbucks is one of only a few restuarants/shops that is right on the outskirts of the mall. Bolin and Opal should be inside already, but I'm going to wait for Asami.

I take a seat at one of the tables in front of the entrance and pull out my phone. Since Asami doesn't seem to be here yet, I think I'll try to level up my little dude in this ninja game I got recently...

I almost jump out of my pants when I feel a warm breath ghost my cheek. "Watcha playin'?"

"Holy friggin' crap!" I'm literally on the ground right now, having partially fallen out of my chair. I look up to see a grinning Asami standing in front of me. "Dammit Asami, you freakin' scared me - I swear, I almost peed my pants..."

Asami laughs and brings herself down to my level in attempt to pull me up, and I gratefully accept her assistance. "Haha, sorry about that Korra… I just couldn't help but mess with you a little; you looked so absorbed in your game that I just _had_ to pull something on you, just to see your reaction."

I frown as menacingly as I can at Asami, but she's somehow immune to all my ill-intent meant gestures. "Yeah, yeah…" I say, patting away any dirt that's probably accumulated on my rear end.

As I'm doing so I suddenly become aware of what Asami is wearing.

She stands off to the side, chuckling at me as I halt my posterior-related laboring. Asami has on a layered black top that shows off some really attractive collar bone and flows down the length of her slender waist. A dark pair of skinny jeans stretches down her mile-long legs, and she dons a nice pair of black prada. With a deep maroon leather hoodie she looks almost casual, but still is able to retain a nice amount of maturity in the attire department.

I'm unaware of my staring until Asami laughs again at my spacey-ness, and the spell is broken only when I find Asami waving her maroon painted nails in my face in the most polite fashion possible.

"Earth to Korra… Hey, you alright?" she smiles, and I shake my head really fast.

"Uh, um, yeah, I'm fine," I laugh, waving the incident off. "Just zoning out is all." I begin walking ahead, gesturing for her to follow. "Come on, let's go inside. I think Bolin and Opal are waiting for us."

Asami sides up beside me not too long after I head into the mall, and she leans in close, gingerly grasping my arm as I lead us deeper into the depths of the building. "So," she begins, and I have to make sure my eyes are locked forward so that I don't fall back into those deep emerald irises of hers. Lord knows if I'm ever coming out if I do. "Opal and Bolin are some friends of yours, right? You're sure they don't mind me coming along?"

"Of course they don't mind," I laugh and smile, my eyes still ahead. "Opal really wants to meet you, and Bolin's totally ecstatic to have someone else join us today, since his brother couldn't make it. He loves people." I frown. "Bolin, that is, haha."

Asami nods her head in understanding. "Alright, I'm glad that they're fine with it." She's quiet for a while as we continue walking, and then she stops, gently grabbing my elbow again as she pulls me off to the side.

I wonder if anything's wrong?

"I just wanted to say thank you Korra for bringing me alo-"

"HEEEEEEEEYYYYYY!"

I twirl around with what wits I still have about me to find Bolin running over to us with Opal not too far behind, grinning wide.

"Dude, Korra, you made it!" he calls out to me, and I wave at him. Darn, I feel kind of bad for Asami. But I think I kinda get the idea of what she was going to say.

"Haha, wassup Bolin?" I say, waiting for him and Opal to come over to us. There's a surprised look on his face as he sees who I brought, but it's not nearly as comparable as Opal's. "This is my friend Asami," I tell them, and Asami smiles.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you both. Korra's told me a lot of good things about you both; I hope you two don't mind me joining you toda-"

"Ohmygod I can't believe this is happening!"

I turn to look at Opal and Bolin after exchanging my attention from Asami's to theirs, and am surprised to see both of them having pulled out autograph booklets. Bolin's has some kind of kiddie design on it, and I remember it's probably the one of the ones we got from Disneyland when we would go together. They're not going to ask for her autog-

"Can I have your autograph?" Both of them blurt out simultaneously, and I can't help but cover my face with my hands in embarrassment. Guys, you can't really…

"Sure, no problem." Asami replies, and quickly scribbles out her name onto either of their booklets. I'm astonished at how unperturbed she is at their randomness. "I'm not really that famous or anything though; you'd probably be better off asking someone like my dad for his autograph instead, haha. He's the inventor, not me." Asami flips over Bolin's autograph booklet and cracks a smile, pointing at the character on the front. "Mickey Mouse?"

I don't know whether to throw myself off the mall's second story balcony or burst out laughing.

"Heh-" Bolin turns a light shade of red and rubs the back of his neck with his free hand. "Well, I'm sure you're just about as famous as him, right? And still, you're Hiroshi Sato's daughter! It is an honor to meet you, Miss Sato," Bolin replies back, closing his booklet when Asami hands it back to him and holding it tight to his chest. He does a quick bow and Asami giggles. "Wow, this is so awesome! My ol' buddy Korra is friends with Asami Sato…" he says, looking off dreamily into the distance.

"I know, right?" Opal sighs, and slides a hand behind her ear to tuck back some of her cropped chestnut hair. She blushes a little, and I huff at her sudden timidness. "This is _so cool_ , getting to meet you, Asami."

Asami still doesn't seem to be bothered by all the gushiness seeping from my friends, and I silently thank her for not wanting to run away from these doofuses that I surround myself with. "Haha, like I said before - it's nothing special, really." Asami looks over at me and smiles, and I suddenly feel like she's trying to bring me in on the conversation after having been bombarded by Opal and Bolin. "Uh, so what do you guys want to do today?"

"Yeah," I answer after hearing Asami's suggestion. I think Bolin and Opal would probably stand here worshipping Asami all day if she hadn't have said something (although I hate to admit it). "Why don't we go do some shopping or something? Asami hasn't been to the mall here before, so I think it'd be nice if we show her around."

"Sounds good to us!" The two before Asami and I straighten up rapidly.

"What do you want to do first?" Bolin asks, and I can tell he's really excited about this. At least almost as much as Opal; she's basically bouncing with every single step. I have to say the two do look really cute together, and that's times two right now because they're both acting so adorably like little children that I can't help but grin.

"Anything is fine with me." Asami smiles back at him and he turns on his heels again, marching in front of us alongside Opal. I'm a bit happy because Asami has remained by my side; and at a relatively close distance. It feels nice.

After a bit of tramping we come to a stop at an Asian restaurant; Bolin suggested that we stop for lunch first, and I totally agreed with him in a heartbeat because he _did_ promise me that he'd buy me food earlier. Don't get me wrong; even if he wouldn't have brought it up, I would have made him pay up sooner or later.

The restaurant is a Great Khan, and because it's not exactly a restaurant where you can go inside (it's actually a self-serve kind of thing) we get in line and begin grabbing our food.

"I've never tried this before," Asami says as she smiles over at me, grabbing some vegetables with a pair of tongs. "Is it any good?"

"Trust me," I tell her. I've loaded my bowl with a bunch of meat, and now I'm moving in on the rest of the veggies, mwehehe. "If you liked the chow mein last night, you're gonna love this. I should know; I'm an expert on noodles."

Asami grins over at me. "Oh really now?"

"Really," I say, grinning back.

And that's when it happened.

"Oh my god, is that Asami Sato?!"

Oh poop.

The four of us turn around to see another group of teenagers standing off to the side near the escalators, and their faces are chock-full of surprise. One of the girls in the group has her phone out, and my heart suddenly sinks as she catches a few other peoples' attention. Oh god, this can't be good.

I can all of a sudden hear a lot of commotion beginning to take place as people begin glancing in our direction, and there's more than a few utterances of Asami's and the Sato family's name. Then, almost like a tidal wave, a whole flood of people from what seems like every corner of the world come rushing in all at the same time.

Before I have time to think of what to do next I feel a soft hand in my own, and I find myself being pulled away from the crowd that's somehow enveloped us in the last five seconds.

Rushing wind passes my face at what feels like a million miles an hour, and I do the best I can to keep my hold on the hand that has so recently gripped mine.

It's Asami's, and I'm mentally lost in the physical commotion around us as we fly through the mall, trying to get away from the militia of civilians charging after us.

"Come on, we have to get out of here," Asami says over her shoulder, and I try opening my mouth to say something but have no idea of what could possibly be a good suggestion at this time. All I'm thinking about right now is of my hand in Asami's, and of how we are possibly going to escape this manic crowd of people. Also of how fast Asami can run in high heels.

There's a turn coming up ahead, and Asami pulls my hand harder. "This way!"

We make a cut around the corner, and luckily there's another big crowd of people over here that can make it easier for us to lose all the others behind us. Without trying to cause too much of another commotion Asami guides me through the maze of people, and quickly pulls me into a clothing shop entrance. We make our way to the back where we find an open dressing room and enter in, shutting the door behind us.

The room is a little cramped, and I can feel Asami's body heat from running begin to warm up the cool air between us. We both begin inhaling deeply as we try to catch our breaths.

"Jesus, that was crazy…" I laugh softly, and Asami pulls her hair back from her face, smiling up at me.

She's leaning back against the door, looking kind of wiped out, and I don't blame her.

"Does stuff like this happen to you often?" I ask, wiping a bit of sweat off my forehead with the back of my hand.

"Sometimes," comes my reply, and she stands up, straightening out her clothes. "I'm sorry I didn't mention it to you sooner. I - I just thought that you might have not wanted me to come with you guys if you knew."

Oh, so that's what it was then. "Don't worry about it," I laugh, moving in a bit closer to place a hand on her shoulder. "It's not like I find myself running away from a crazy crowd of people everyday - it's good to have a little excitement in life every now and then."

"Thanks." Asami says, and pulls herself up. I remove my hand from her shoulder, and she smiles at me.

I feel a vibration against my bottom and jump, realizing that I've got a text message. I pull out my phone, and Asami glances curiously at me as I look over the screen. "It's from Bolin." Wow. I kinda forgot about them for a while, haha. "He's wondering if we're alright." I text back a short message telling him that me and Asami managed to escape the crowd. There's a brief moment before he replies, and I frown at the new message he sends me.

"What is is?" Asami asks, seeing the bothered look on my face.

"He says that pretty much the whole mall knows you're here now."

"..."

"What - What should we do?"

Asami sits down on the little bench against the side of the changing room and winces. "I - I'm not sure. By this rate, if the whole mall knows, I think we might even get some paparazzi within the hour…"

I feel bad for Asami. She must have to deal with this often, and I'm sure it's made her life pretty hard for her.

Asami sighs. "They'll probably be able to find us too is we try to make it to my car; they'll be able to follow me home, since I live at our new estate."

I look over at Asami, and see her in a very dismal-looking state. She's pulled her knees up to her chest, and has her chin resting on her knees. There's a disappointed look in her eyes, and I can no longer seem find that vibrant sparkle in them that they so usually carry. What she says next comes out almost as a whisper. "I'm sorry I ruined the day for you and your friends."

I move closer to Asami and bend down to reach her level. "No, don't be so hard on yourself. You didn't ruin anything for us - the day isn't over yet, you know."

"What do you mean? We probably won't be able to get out of here without being tackled by an angry mob."

I grin. "I think I have an idea to help us get out of here."

* * *

 **okay, there you have it! hopefully after i get all that dreadful homework done i'll be able to post again, haha (but of course that won't be until next week!).**

 **anyhow, i hoped you enjoyed this chapter, and feel free to review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**thank the lord i got most of that homework done that was recently due... *sighs in relief* it was kinda hard working on this chapter in between, but hey! i did it, so take that, homework! anyways, i hope you enjoy this chapter, and thank you to those of you who took the time to review for the last chapter (you know who you are, haha). :)**

* * *

 **Not a Normal Saturday: Part 2**

Asami and I gently push Opal out of the changing room, making sure that no one in the store has noticed the three pairs of feel that have been shuffling around in such a claustrophobic space for the past half hour.

"Guys…" she moans, turning around. "Do I really have to do this?" She's got on a black wig, and we've somehow managed to find some clothes for her that seem to associate well with what Asami is wearing currently.

"Yep, I gotta hand it to you," Bolin adds, walking over to us as he speaks in a hushed yet excited tone. His eyes are bright, and I can tell that he's really up for our plan. _My_ plan, that is. Told you I was gonna be a super genius. "I think this might actually work!"

"Opal," I tell her, placing a hand on her shoulder. The dressing room door is slightly ajar, and I make sure not to mention anything about Asami being here with us so that no stampede of shoppers/paparazzi come in to steal Asami away. "You got this."

Opal takes a deep breath and looks up at me, her green eyes flashing back and forth over my face for a moment before she grins and clenches her fist. "...Yeah, alright!"

Maybe I should re-emphasize just how easy her job is for her, so that she doesn't forget her duty? "Just remember to walk casually out the door, and once you've got everybody's attention start running as fast as you can in those stiletto heels all the way out to the parking lot, where you'll get into Asami's car and drive off somewhere not too far away without crashing and without anyone catching you until you get to your destination. Alrighty?" I say, flashing a sarcastic smile.

" _Oh wow_ , thanks for making my life easy. Why'd you have to put it like that?"

"Never mind Korra's over-dramaticity," Asami moves in a little towards me, her head peeking out the door over my shoulder. Man, I really wish I was taller. I feel so short around her, especially since she's wearing high heels. But I guess now isn't really the time to be thinking about how small I am. "Opal," she says, looking my swimming buddy straight in the eye, "I really want to thank you for doing this for me. I don't know how to thank you."

Opal just blushes. "Ah, it's not big deal Asami - I'm glad I could help." Wow, so now she's all sweet and sugary? I see someone has a favorite...

"Alright alright!" Bolin brings us into a small kind of huddle, and wraps his arms around Opal's shoulders as well as mine. Asami kinda just leans over my shoulder as so that she doesn't get seen by anyone walking around outside or in the store. Still, I can't help but feel like we're having a powwow in the middle of a Sun Diego shop… Which we are… "Are we ready, guys?"

"Ready as I'll ever be…" Opal cringes, and I chuckle.

"Ready!" I reply, and I tighten my grip on both Opal and Bolin. I can feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins right now… Dude, I am so ready for this.

Bolin points to me. "Got your keys?"

"Yep."

Bolin points to Opal. "Got Asami's keys?"

"Yeah…" she answers, almost reluctantly. She's about to start saying something else; probably about how she doesn't really think this is a good idea anymore (well, at least that's what I imagine, knowing Opal), but before she gets the chance to say anything Bolin pulls us in together for one last group hug.

"'Kay - _let's do this thing!_ " he whispers as loudly as possible, and I have to grin, feeling fired up. We pull apart, and then Bolin smiles back over at me and Asami as he practically drags Opal over to the door. "Good luck!" he calls out, and I wave.

With a quick shove (I know, Opal's getting pushed around a lot today in more ways than one), Opal's out in the open amongst the wolves. Bolin isn't too far behind, and once Opal has reached a reasonable distance, my buddy shouts out at the top of his lungs (causing pretty much every shopper to turn his way): "OHMYGAWD - I LOVE YOU, ASAMI!"

There's the concurrent shifting of heads, as well as the clack of shoes against the tile floor, as I watch Bolin run after Opal after shouting out Asami's name, and I can kinda manage to see Opal running as fast as she can/is humanly possible back out towards the parking lot. Glad that I'm not the one running out there.

Still, I have my own job to do. "Come on, we've gotta leave now before they realize Opal isn't you," I tell Asami, and she nods at me. Before I know what I'm doing I grab Asami's hand, and carefully I pull her along behind me.

The Sun Diego store is pretty much empty now, thanks to Opal (and my brilliant plan), and it's the perfect time to make a run for it. Which is exactly what we're going to do.

"You know the way out, right?" Asami asks me in a hushed tone, and I look back over my shoulder to give her a reassuring nod.

"Yeah, leave it to me."

It's almost as if by a miracle that we make it back out to my car without getting tackled by anyone in general. There were, of course, the few times when someone would casually (I'm guessing they didn't make it out when Bolin oh-so-nonchalantly announced his adoration for 'Asami' for unknown reasons?) turn our way while we were aiming for escape. Most of the time I would try to walk with me slightly covering Asami (I know it sounds weird, I'm sorry), but there were those few times that I had to kind of pull her into the occasional potted plant, photo booth, or tiny hallway. It was kind of embarrassing/awkward.

Anyways, we're able to make it out to my car. I can tell that Opal's already took off with Asami's convertible; it isn't where Asami said she parked it.

"Do you think she made it out alright?" Asami says, and I chuckle. We're getting into my car now, and I'll have to say we're trying to be a little urgent when we do so too because we have no idea if the paparazzi will be coming back anytime soon.

I close the car door and turn to Asami, who's already strapped herself down with the seatbelt into the passenger's seat. "I'm sure she's fine; Opal's a pretty good driver. Plus, she practically knows this city like the back of her hand." I start up the engine. "What I'm kinda worried about though is your car-"

"No, it's alright," Asami gives a wave of her hand, "You shouldn't worry about that; I'm sure she'll take care of it."

I shrug and pull out of the parking space. "Okay, if you say so."

A few minutes later and we're back on the highway.

"So, uh, you think they'd go back to your estate?" I ask, somewhat cautiously. I don't want to bring up anything Asami might not want to talk about. I mean, you've got to give the girl a break; I'm sure she doesn't enjoy all of this craziness when she just wants to be with friends and relaxing. Which I don't think she's actually ever done, now that I think about it.

Asami looks down at her lap, where she's got her phone pulled out. I'm a bit curious as to why she's grinning. "Yeah, I think so. But that's why I'm texting my dad."

"You're telling him that all those crazy people are going to show up at your estate?" I choke out, surprised.

"Mhm. But you shouldn't worry about that, it happens sometimes to us. I'm also telling him that I probably won't be back home until tomorrow."

She won't be back home until tomorrow? Wow, sounds hard, living a life like that. "Oh… Uh, well, where are you going to spend the night?" I ask. We've come to a stop light, and I have my hands lightly grasping the steering wheel. I'm trying not to look at Asami (I know, I've been keeping myself from doing this a lot), but I can't help myself from doing so when she answers my question.

"Well, I was hoping you wouldn't mind if I stayed at your house for the night…"

My hands are now literally death-gripping the steering wheel. I'm pretty sure my hands are going to run out of their circulation if the blood doesn't flow back into them soon. "M-My house?"

"Mhm." Asami smiles.

"U-Uh, sure, if you want. I mean, I don't mind at all, it's just that this is kinda sudden if you know what I mean… Not that I don't want you to, I'm ju-"

Asami laughs and I shut up. "Korra, you're too cute, you know that?"

I find myself blushing the entire drive back home.

* * *

By the time we get to my house it's still a bit early. And by that I mean it's not exactly nighttime yet, so we have few hours to kill until it's time to hit the sack.

There wasn't really anywhere else we could really go; I mean, I wasn't sure if Asami was up for going to another metropolitan area after just narrowly escaping a riot of people within the past hour. Well, lucky me: at my house, there is hardly anyone home during the afternoons, since my parents are off at work. Today they're out doing something (some kind of outing, I assume), so me and Asami have the house all to ourselves.

I drop onto my bed with a relaxed sigh. "Wow, now _that_ was something."

"You're telling me," Asami says as she walks over to the bed. Her arms are crossed, and she's got this little smirk on her face. "I wish things like that didn't happen so often; it's pretty annoying."

I raise an eyebrow. "I was wondering - why was everybody chasing you? I mean, I know you're Hiroshi Sato's daughter and all, but I didn't really know you were, like, mega-star famous." I sit up and look at Asami.

"I don't know if you know this…" Asami's smirk has disappeared, and she frowns. She looks disappointed. "My dad and I aren't exactly the closest. I mean, he's a nice dad and everything, but we never really had, you know-" She flips up her palm for some emphasis, looking for the right word. "A _connection_ , if you know what I mean."

I don't know where Asami is going with this, but I decide to listen nonetheless. I mean, that's why I asked in the first place, haha.

"It's because of what he does. He's eternally busy with his work, and the only time he gets to really talk to me is _during_ that work time." Asami sighs, and I feel my heart sink a little bit. "I really want to become an engineer myself, and I keep telling my dad that I can help him come up with new ideas and innovations. What he usually sees me as though is a way to help him advertise."

"..."

Asami sees the confused look on my face and giggles. "Haha, I know… It's not exactly the most respected industry in the business world."

"You… Your dad makes you advertise his products?" I'm not sure whether to think of Asami's dad as a genius or a genius. I mean, of course it is kind of harsh that he only really gets to talk to her and all that when he needs her for work… But who wouldn't want to buy something endorsed by an absolutely gorgeous girl (this is the part where I raise my hand, because of course I would)?

"W-What kind of advertising do you do?" Please don't tell me she has to dress like one of those Hooters girls please don't tell me she has to dress like one of those Hooters girls please don't-

"Well, usually what I do is drive out on the streets in a car we might be looking forward to advertise; you know, like for those commercials where all the streets are empty and there's this one car driving down the road-"

My eyes widen a bit at the mention of the genre of her work, and I sit up straighter. "Wow, you must be a really awesome driver then! They always put those really tiny words at the bottom of the screen during the commercial that say," I spread out my hands in front of my face really enthusiastically, like I'm opening some kind of banner, " _'THIS IS A PROFESSIONAL DRIVER, DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS AT HOME'_ , or something like that, right?"

Asami laughs, and I smile. "Korra, it's ' _Please do not attempt'_ or ' _This driver is on a closed course'_."

"Yeah, yeah," I grin back. "Same difference, haha. But that's what you do anyways, right? That's neat. And I'm guessing you do it pretty often too, since a lot of people seem to know who you are."

Asami shrugs and takes a seat on the side of the bed. "I guess; I mean, I'd much rather be building cars and all that instead of you know-" She looks over at me and frowns again. "Advertising."

There's a small moment of silence, and since my stomach somehow has a consciousness of it's own, it decides to make a point in telling me what it thinks of me at that exact moment.

 _Garrrrbbbllleeee._

Aw crap, why do I always have to embarrass myself.

"Haha, you're hungry, aren't you?" Asami laughs again, and I feel my face burn. I hate it when my stomach does that at the wrong time; I swear, I think sometimes it hates me.

I'm about to open my mouth to answer when Asami places a finger on my lips. God, I didn't even know she was close enough to do that-

"You don't have to say anything. Listen: since it was me who was the one who didn't let you get to eat lunch, I'll get you something to eat, alright?"

"A-Asami, you really don't have to, I'm sure we have something in the fridge-"

"It's my treat." Asami says, standing up and placing her hands on her hips authoritively. "For taking me out today, even if it might not have worked out the way we wanted it to."

I watch Asami as she heads over to the foot of the bed, and stops, standing directly in front of my cross-legged figure. "Anything you want, you name it."

I can't control my stomach and it rumbles again.

Asami is still smiling, and I kinda feel like she's trying to incorporate her advertising skills here into my hunger crisis… " _Anything._ "

I can't stop my mouth from betraying me. "Uhhh, well, I kinda do like noodles…"

"Alright, noodles it is."

* * *

I'd really like to apologize to everyone in advance, but I just _have_ to put it out there that I do get ravenously hungry. Often. And not surprisingly, today was one of those days. So if you do ever end up sharing food with me, make sure you are so ravenously hungry enough too that you'd be able to keep up with the pace of inhalation in which I use to eat.

Asami was a beast to order some spaghetti with meat sauce (which was about two Korra-sized portions, by the way), and it didn't take very long for the food to make it's way over to my house.

In saying so, when the takeout delivery guy came, I ran to the door like a maniac to get to the noodles on the other side. This was around 2 o'clock.

It's about 9 right now.

Asami and I have just finished up the rest of the spaghetti for our dinner, and I'll have to tell you that it was heavenly. The spaghetti, that is. Don't want you to get the wrong idea, haha. But still, sharing spaghetti with Asami was nice too. Despite her looks, she can still pack it in. But of course I was still the one who put away most of it (sorry, Asami…).

My parents still haven't come home yet, so I'm guessing they're still busy doing whatever it is they had to go do earlier. My mom sent me a text that said she would be back home late, possibly even after I went to bed. Now you're probably thinking that I'm the kinda girl who usually stays up late watching Netflix and everything… but heck to the no, I am the one who tries to get to bed at an appointed time to gain some appointed sleep. Especially if I have class in the morning.

So yeah. It's about bedtime for me right now.

I get up from the couch, where me and Asami have been currently sitting for the past few hours in a Hunger Games marathon. Yeah, the last movie hasn't come out yet, but we think it'd be good to refresh our memories/the feels for it when it comes out in a few months. Can't wait.

With a stretch I walk over behind the couch and yawn. "I think I'm gonna go take a shower before I get to bed, 'kay?"

Asami twists in her position, the long legs tucked beneath her shifting slightly. "Oh, alright. Is it time for you to go to bed so early?" There's another one of those sly smiles on her face, of which I really don't know how to react when I see one. They're so - so - _discombobulating_ , you know? Heh, I feel really smart now, using a big word like that.

"Ah, well…" I'm about to tell her that I usually try to get to bed early to be able to start my day off fresh and all that when I suddenly find her leaning over the couch, green eyes twinkling in the light of the tv credits.

"Your parents have a curfew for you, don't they?"

"Pffftt!" I give my hand a wave through the air. "Of course they don't! Why would I, Korra, the absolutely perfect daughter, need a curfew of 9 o'clock?"

"Because you're not absolutely perfect," is Asami's quick yet sassy reply.

I try another one of my ill-intended grimaces. "Well, I know Hannah Montana said nobody's perfect, but here I am," I say, and Asami laughs as I make my way back up the stairs. I don't really know why, but I really like the sound of Asami when she laughs. I want to make her laugh more often.

"Is it alright if I take a shower after you?" Asami calls out while I'm trekking up the stairs.

"Sure, you can borrow some of my clothes to sleep in, and I'll get you a towel too. I'll leave the stuff for you on the bed; the shampoo and conditioner are already in the bathroom."

"Okay, thanks, sounds great!" Asami says, and I smile to myself.

I decide to get out Asami some things that would probably fit her while I'm sorting through my dresser. I mean, she's kind of tall, so some of my shirts might be a little on the short side for her. There's a longish t-shirt I've found, something that I usually put on when I go to bed. And I've just washed it too, so that's a plus.

As for the shorts, I've got a bunch of sporty stuff that I use to exercise in or wander around the house in. And yes, I do that a lot when I don't have much to do. Sometimes when it gets hot (don't tell anyone this, okay?) I just like to sleep in a sports bra and a pair of those nice, breezy little shorts (yeah, that's why my mom was yelling at me the other day). But anyways, I pull out Asami one of those tiny pairs I adore so much, and place them and the shirt on the bed.

Aaannnd I'm not really quite sure what to do about underwear, so I just don't bother.

Heading off to the bathroom to go take my shower then… La da da…

In a few minutes I feel like a new person, and it's time for me to go nighty-night. I come out of the bathroom slightly tired but oh-so-totally ready for a good night's rest, again ruffling my hair with a small hand towel. On my way back to my room I walk across the hallway and dispose of my dirty clothes/towel in the laundry room, and then I'm on my way back to headquarters.

Asami stands up from my bed when I walk in, holding the clothes and clean towel in a bunch close to her chest. She smiles at me. "Hey."

"The bathroom's free now," I respond, and walk over to the bed. I pull away the sheets and plop down, grinning, my head on the pillow. I close my eyes and sigh. "Ahhh… This feels so good…"

Asami giggles and begins making her way toward the bathroom. "Well, I'll try to make my shower quick then, so you can get to bed."

"Fine with me," I call after her, but I think she's already on her way down the hall.

Making myself comfortable I sink myself down further into the cushy depths, and nuzzle up against the soft blankets. I close my eyes again, but I have to leave the light on because Asami's probably going to come back into the room in a while and I don't want her to trip and fall and die because she accidentally stepped on something and the whole room was pitch black.

Although it only feels like a few minutes later (maybe it really is a few minutes later?) I hear my door creak open and a pair of feet pad against the soft floor.

"Okay, I'm back. I put the towel in the laundry room, if that's okay."

I don't bother looking up; my eyes are still closed and I'm trying to reconnect with my sleeping chakra, even though I have no idea if that's a real thing. "Yeah, sure, no prob."

"Do you want me to turn the light off?"

I smile, my eyes still closed. "Yeah, that'd be good."

There's a little shuffling as I hear Asami walk over to the end of the room and flip off the switch. Then she comes back and I feel the covers being pulled away, a cool breeze moving across my bare legs for a moment. Then the sensation is gone again as it's replaced by a new one; a warm body against mine.

"You don't mind sharing the bed with me, right?"

Even though I can't see Asami right now, I can totally imagine the smirk on her face as she says this. My breath hitches. "U-Uh, no, I'm good."

"Haha, alright."

Things are silent again. It's not that I don't want to talk to Asami, it's just that I don't really know what I would say to her. It's hard to think when you've got this really pretty girl in the same bed as you. Okay, let me try and rephrase that-

"Hey, Korra?"

I shift in place. "Yeah?"

There's another shift on the other side of the bed, and I figure it's Asami rolling over onto her side to face me. And of course I'm not facing her (which I realize is really impolite) so I decide to do the same, even though I'm nervous about doing so. Now we're face to face.

"I'd just like to thank you for today."

"Ah, it was nothing," I laugh, and in the faint moonlight I can see Asami smile.

"No, I'm being serious," she says, and my chuckling dies down. "I mean, no one has really taken me out before… You were the first. It's just that - no one ever has really made any time for me. And if they did, it was usually because they just wanted to say they were friends or had a relationship with the somewhat-famous Asami Sato."

I frown. Asami hasn't ever had any real friends then, hasn't she?

"But you; you're someone who isn't like that at all. And I want to thank you for that."

"Uh…"

"And even if things didn't exactly turn out the way we wanted them to - you know, having to escape that crazy crowd-"

"Or making Opal have to dress up as you," I chime in, and Asami giggles again.

"Or having to miss lunch."

"Or getting to eat all that uberlicious spaghetti together while watching the Hunger Games."

There's that sparkle in Asami's eyes again. "Mhm, you get the idea."

"Yeah, I think I do." I grin back, and I have this sudden urge to get closer to Asami. She smells _sooo_ good after her shower, and her hair is slightly wet, and her eyes in the moonlight look this really enchanting, emerald green-

"So that's just what I wanted to say," Asami says, and underneath the blankets I can feel her hand move across to reach mine. Once her hand is in mine, she gives it a light squeeze. "Thank you."

Through her warm, cradling fingers I can feel Asami's honest statement; it's like we're holding it, together, in our joined palms. Our friendship.

I squeeze Asami's hand tighter and give her the best smile I can. "You're welcome."

* * *

 **i know we still haven't seen much of bolin or opal and the others, so i'd just like to put it out there quickly that i'll be incorporating the rest of the characters into the story soon. patience is a virtue, my dear readers (but let's also not forget the fact that this is a korrasami fanfic, haha).**

 **thanks to all of those who have faved and followed, and i'd love to hear your thoughts on the story so far!**


	5. Chapter 5

**i know some of you have been asking for an asami pov, so i decided to give it a shot and write one for this chapter.**

* * *

 **Mixed Feelings**

Korra and I spent the rest of the night together, and it was nice to have had a sleepover for the first time in forever. It'd be an understatement to say that things got a little awkward in the morning when her mom found us snoozing; Korra seems to have the ability to maneuver herself around while she sleeps, and when I woke up I found her clinging onto my waist. Not that I minded; it was really cute watching her sleep.

This morning we decided to go out for breakfast together, and we had to take Korra's car because Opal still had mine. Over pancakes at IHOP Opal texted Korra, and she said that she had run into a bit of a problem when she had tried to feign being me and escape with my car.

"Uh, Asami, it looks like we have a problem…" Korra mumbles through a mouthful of pancake, and I look up from my omelette.

"What is it?" I say, suddenly finding it a bit peculiar as to what might have happened. It can't be anything too bad, right?

"Opal says that she kinda…"

"Kinda what?"

"Kinda…" Korra looks hesitant, and she furrows her eyebrows together, pleading with me with those ocean blue eyes. I don't know why, but the expression on her face somehow reminds me of how a little puppy might look.

In other words, completely adorable.

I look at Korra again and tilt my head. "Mhm?"

"She kinda… got a… speeding ticket…" Korra finishes slowly. I find it endearing that she's so cautious trying to tell me this, as if she herself was the one who managed to get into some trouble with my car even though it was Opal. Korra closes her eyes and opens them up again carefully one at a time, almost like she's scared I'm going to whack her with a newspaper (still going off of that puppy analogy, if you don't mind).

"Oh, I see." I cut out another piece of my omelette and take a savory bite.

"You're - You're not mad?"

"No." I can't help but smirk a bit; Korra still doesn't know who she's dealing with, does she? This is Asami Sato she's talking to.

"...But she got a ticket. And it was _your car_."

"I know it was my car, Korra," I chuckle, and Korra gives me a confused look. She picks up her fork again and begins shoveling in more pancake, a bit more eased that I don't seem to be angry or anything. And of course I wouldn't be; this isn't a problem at all. "You can tell Opal that it's fine; I can pay whatever amount they need me to."

"Ohhhhhhhh… Right!" Korra smiles and chuckles as she waves her fork at me. There's a piece of strawberry pancake on the prongs that she seems to have left on, and it falls off as she begins waving the eating utensil around. The cute dork doesn't even seem to notice, and I try stifling a laugh. "You're so smart, Asami. Wow, I didn't even think about that."

Korra sticks the fork into her mouth and frowns when she realizes there's nothing on it, and I giggle. "When does Opal want me to pick up the car?"

"Hm…" Korra takes a second to shoot Opal a message, and receives a quick reply a few seconds later. "Uh, she wants to know if after breakfast sounds good?"

"Sure, sounds fine with me." There's a few bites of my omelette left, and I manage to finish it off within the next minute. Then I look over at Korra, who's still so absorbed into finishing her pancakes that I have to crack a smile.

"Hey, you want to share that with me?" I joke, and Korra over-protectively wraps both of her arms around her plate while shaking her head.

"Nuh-uh! 'Bese are mine!" she manages through a stuffed mouth, and I nod, taking the opportunity to pour myself a cup of coffee from the pitcher set on the table.

"Wow, you're such a greedy guts, Korra."

"No, _you're_ such a greedy guts, Asami," Korra relays back with a cheeky edge to her voice, pointing her pancake-tipped fork at me once again. "You're always trying to steal my food, you food stealer-"

Korra's jaw slackens when I lean forward and bite off the pancake on her fork. Heh, totally got her that time.

"Why you-" Korra's slightly blushing now, as I've just proved how much of a food stealer I can be.

"You really need to keep your guard up," I say, running a finger over the edge of her plate where some strawberry syrup has found itself beginning to shy away from the pancakes themselves. She manically pulls in her plate closer and glares up at me, and even though I know she's trying to be menacing I can't help but find the gesture funny. I know Korra's watching me now, and I give the syrup on my finger a lick.

Korra's lips turn into pout. "Meanie 'Sami…"

I laugh and Korra grimaces. I spend the next few minutes closely watching her eat her pancakes, of which she does so as quickly as she can in order to make sure that I can't steal any more of her breakfast-y goodness away from her.

"Fine, I'm done!" Korra exclaims, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand as she stands up. "Ready to go get your car?"

I smile and look back up at her. "I thought you'd never ask."

* * *

"Uh, hi guys…" Opal waves albeit nervously as Korra and I walk up to her.

We're out parked in front of the college we all attend. There's not really anyone here since it's a Sunday, and Opal thought it might be good if we were able to meet up in an area that wouldn't have too many people around.

Korra closes the driver's side car door hastily, and places her hands on her hips before walking over to Opal, who's standing next to the trunk of my convertible. "Way to go, Ope," she says, and Opal frowns.

"I'm sorry, okay?" she crosses her arms in refute, and I can tell that the two are pretty close, having this kind of playful, bantering argument. "It's not like I meant to get a speeding ticket, okay? There were just, like, so many cars chasing after me that I kinda had to speed up a little, and one thing leads to another, and all that…"

"Mhm, _suuuuuure_." Korra nods sarcastically, and Opal frowns again.

Opal sticks out her chin and scrunches up her nose. "Hey, whose idea was it to make me in charge of driving Asami's car, Miss This-is-my-oh-so-brilliant-plan?"

"Well, it's not like we had anyone else to drive it."

"What about Bolin?"

"Are you kidding me? He doesn't look anything like Asami! He's not even a girl!"

"We could've done some extensive disguising, you know! I'm sure it could've worked too!"

I decide to step in before World War 3 starts and place a hand on Opal's shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Opal," I smile, and Opal's downhearted mood lifts slightly. "A speeding ticket isn't the end of the world. Plus, I've gotten a few of those myself when I've had to bypass the media and all that, so I understand."

"Thanks," Opal says and smiles up at me. "I'm glad at least _someone_ here has some sympathy," she looks at Korra when she says this, and I have to grin. Korra has a mild disappointed look on her face, but I know she didn't mean any real harm. I think she was just a bit frustrated that her plan didn't exactly work out the way she wanted it to. But it's the thought that counts, you know.

"Here are your car keys Asami," Opal hands me over the keys, and I close my fist around them, feeling the cool metal in my palm.

"Thanks, Opal." Opal seems to have calmed down thanks to my easy-going demeanor about the whole situation, but Korra still seems to be a bit restless.

"And here's the ticket too…" Opal says quietly, placing a piece of folded paper into my palm, which I take without opening.

"Thanks." I know that any other person would probably act differently in the same situation, but it's something that I've come to understand that I'm not like most people, even though most of the time I wish I was. "Um…." I turn to Korra, thinking that maybe if I asked her a question it might help her ease up a bit. "The DMV isn't open Sundays, isn't it?"

Korra opens her mouth to say something but then closes it again, frowning instead. "Ah, no, I don't think it is…"

Opal looks off into the distance, and I can tell that she's trying to not look at Korra's semi-angry evil-glare face. "T-That's too bad…"

"How much was the fine anyways?" Korra finally says after she's done leering at Opal, and Opal curiously raises a hand to her chin and looks to the ground.

"Um, I can't really remember, to tell you the truth," she laughs embarrassedly, and ruffles her hair as she reaches to rub the back of her neck. "I kinda didn't want to look at the ticket too much to remind me of the crime I committed…"

I chuckle at Opal's comment while Korra huffs.

"Can I see the ticket, Asami?" she says, and I hand over the piece of paper to Korra.

There's a moment of silence as Korra studies the note, and then she steps back, an interesting look on her face. "Wait - this ticket was issued by Mako."

Opal shrugs nonchalantly. "Uh, yeah… Does it matter? It's still a ticket."

"Yeah, but it's _Mako_ we're talking about," is Korra's reply, and now I somehow find myself losing grip on the conversation.

"Mako gave you a ticket?"

"Yep."

"And you didn't mention this first?" Korra squints at Opal, and I raise an eyebrow.

"Uh, I guess not?"

"You jick."

"What did you call me?"

Korra smirks and turns towards me again, pocketing the ticket in the process. "Nothing, dear Opal," she calls over her shoulder as she begins heading towards her car. "Hey, Asami, follow my car, 'kay?"

"Uh…"

Opal asks the question about to come out of my mouth before I can say it myself. "Hey, where are you going, Korra?"

"Where else?" Korra's grinning now, and I get the feeling she's got some kind of idea forming in the back of her mind. "To talk some sense into that punk Mako."

* * *

"Okay, I think this should be the place!"

Korra stands with her hands on her hips in front of the police station, me at her side looking a bit sheepish (although I like to deem myself the more confident type in most situations). To be truthful, I'm not so sure that what Korra has in mind is a good idea or not, and I'd rather not go through with it, but she just keeps on insisting… And bringing those cute, pleading puppydog eyes into the picture, which I really can't say no to. It couldn't hurt to give it a shot, I guess.

"Let's go, Asami!" Korra grins and gently grabs me by the elbow, and I allow her to pull me into the police office.

Once we enter through the glass doors, the awakening gust of air conditioning has me shivering. I suddenly want to snatch away Korra's sweatshirt, or better yet, snuggle up with her. I'm sure she'd be really warm, at least warm enough to combat this cold that these police officers seem to work in.

A gray-haired woman walks in from behind one of the doors that enters the lobby and gives us a curious look, like Korra and I are some kind of young miscreants who just so happened to come and turn ourselves in.

"What do you kids want?" she asks, and might I add somewhat harshly.

"Hey, uh, we wanted to come talk to a guy named Mako," Korra starts, leaning in over the counter as the lady continues to eye us. "He works here, right? Is it okay if we speak to him?"

The lady takes a sip of her coffee, and walks over to the counter. It's a little weird that there seems to be no one else here in the office, but maybe it's just me. It is a Sunday morning, after all. Whoever is probably here at a time like this is either really dedicated or really work-laden. I'm guessing that this lady and Mako are either of those. Of which, I can't be too sure of at the moment, seeing as how I don't know them.

"Sure you can speak to Mako," is the woman's reply. And then she turns her pale green eyes over to us again. "After you tell me who you are."

Korra has this conflicted look on her face for a moment, but shakes it off as she points to herself with a renewed confidence that wasn't there a few seconds ago. "My name's Korra, and this is my friend Asami," she says, pulling me over to the desk, where I give the gray-haired woman a nervous smile. "We're friends of Mako's, and I need to talk to him about something that happened yesterday."

The woman seems unimpressed by Korra's statement and only takes another sip of her coffee.

Now Korra seems unimpressed by the woman's reaction. She leans in closer over the desk. "And who might _you_ be, cop-lady?"

"Who might _I_ be, girlie?" I honestly think that Korra might have offended this lady…

"I'm Chief Beifong. You need to speak to one of my employees, you speak to me first." Wow, this woman is really intimidating - the scar on her cheek should have been a dead giveaway, now that I think about it. I don't think now's a good time for Korra's headstrong qualities to make an appearance, especially around someone as tough as this lady.

I place a hand on the back of Korra's and lean in close to her ear. I can feel her jump back slightly from my sudden touch, and I give her warm hand a quick squeeze of reassurance. "Korra, let me handle this, alright?"

Korra turns to me, confused. "But Asami, I got this!" she whispers back.

"You're obviously having some problems," I tell her, and she frowns in mock disappointment. I know she's trying hard, but this just isn't working. "I think we maybe need to go with a different approach?" I try, and Chief Beifong gives us another disturbed look.

"You two done having your little side conversation over there?"

"I'm sorry," I say, letting go of Korra's hand, "but what Korra was trying to say was that this is a really important message that we have to deliver Mako. It's about his brother Bolin - he got into a car accident yesterday and we were at the hospital with him this morning. The doctor said that he was going through a hard time, and that we should alert his brother as soon as we could. You know, just in case it might be the last time he ever saw him again." I stop, not quite satisfied with my story. "Alive, I mean." Okay. That ought to do the trick.

Out of the corner of my eye I can see Korra's eyes widen at the lie I had just made up, and I do the best that I can to not crack out into a big grin. Hey, sometimes you have to do what you have to do. "Is it alright if we have a word with Mako about it?" I ask as politely as I possibly can.

Chief Beifong doesn't respond, and only gives me a blank stare. Without any notice she cocks her head slightly over one shoulder while still keeping her eyes on us and in a loud voice announces, "Mako, you got some urgent message from a couple of girls over here!"

I can hear a guy's voice answer her back from behind the door. "-Oh, uh, alright! Thanks, Chief!"

Chief Beifong gives Korra and I another glare and lifts up her coffee mug from the counter top, taking another sip. "Don't go getting into any mischief, you hear me?" she says, pointing a finger as she alternates it between Korra and I.

There's the loud shuffling of papers from behind the other side of the doorway as Korra and I exchange glances before nodding in agreement. "We won't," we say in unison, right before the door opens and a guy emerges through hastily.

"What happened?! What is it?!" the guy, I'm guessing Mako, asks worriedly.

Chief Beifong turns around, her back to us. I can only imagine her serene look as she calmly states "Your brother is dying" before waltzing back through the door she originally came though, and I release the breath I didn't realize I was holding until now.

"Oh, hey, Mako, I need to ask you something," Korra quickly begins, but I can tell that Mako is still quite lost in all that's just happened.

"Korra, what are you doing here? Is Bolin dying?" he asks, and glances between me and Korra quizzically at a rapid pace. "What's this all about?"

Korra waves a carefree hand in Mako's face. "Pfffttt, nah… Bolin's not dying, haha."

"Then what's happening? What's the urgent message?"

"This." Korra sticks out her hand, the traffic ticket unfolded in-between her fingers.

Mako quirks a funny-looking eyebrow and takes a moment to study the piece of paper. "Hey," he says slowly, pointing at the paper in Korra's fingers, "that's the ticket I gave out to Opal yesterday. Why do you have it?"

" _Because_ ," Korra states, a little annoyed by Mako's ignorance, "you gave her a speeding ticket but the car wasn't hers, it was Asami's." She gestures over to me and I nod.

Mako's eyebrow is still tilted downward in what I think is confusion as he looks over at me with amber eyes. "Wait… Your name is Asami?"

I nod. "Yes?"

"As in _Asami Sato_?"

" _Yes_?"

Mako blows out a quick puff of air and sweeps his hand upwards, combing it through his spiky hair. "Wow, uh, I'm so sorry about that… Giving you a ticket, I mean. It was my first night out on the job doing tickets and all that, and I didn't know it was your car because Opal was driving it-"

"It's not a problem," I say to save him from his babbling, and Korra frowns. "I can pay the traffic ticket."

"Asami!" Korra hisses, but I don't pay any attention. It's not that I don't not want to have to pay, but I'd just like people to treat me normally, if you get what I mean.

"Korra, it's alright, it shouldn't be too much money anyways," I say before Mako cuts in.

"Hey, no - you know what?" Mako smiles at me, and he grabs the ticket out of Korra's hand, which she had been loosely holding. There's a loud noise as the sound of paper tearing echoes through the silent police office, and my jaw drops open. "You don't have to pay for the ticket, I'll take care of it for you, alright?" Mako places his hands on his hips and smiles, but I don't know what to say. "Courtesy of Mako."

"...You just tore up my ticket..."

"Yeah."

Mako seems pretty satisfied with himself for having gotten rid of the problem, but I don't think he'd take it the right way if I told him I actually _wanted_ to pay for it.

I'm about to say something, but before I can I feel Korra's hand loop around my arm, and I find myself being pulled back towards the office entrance.

"Great, thanks for your help Mako!" she calls, waving back towards a very gleeful-looking Mako who has a grin on his face as he watches us depart. "Just wanted to get that little misunderstanding cleared up!"

We're out of the office in a matter of seconds, and I can see Mako waving at us from through the glass doors as we make our way back to our cars. Korra still has me tethered to her by the arm, and she releases me when we get back to my car. She smiles at me. "Lucky you didn't end up having to pay for that ticket, huh?"

"Well…" I begin. I've got mixed feeling about this. It wouldn't have bothered me if I did have to end up paying for that ticket, because I really do want people to treat me as, well, _regular_. And after Mako realized that I was the Asami Sato, it irked me some at just how fast he tore up the ticket. Maybe a little more hesitance would have been better.

"I guess," I say, and give Korra a smile. I know she tries hard for me, so I can't let all her kindness go to waste. "Thanks for your help, Korra."

"Not a problem, Asami," Korra chuckles, and I suddenly feel my mood brighten up. That warm smile on her face somehow has the ability to make me feel better.

I grin at her and stick out a finger. "But next time I'm paying for the ticket, no ifs, ands, or buts, got it?"

"Whatever you say, dollface," Korra laughs, and walks over to her little blue four-seater parked next to my car.

I can only grin wider from Korra's nickname, and I busy myself shaking the ticket incident-related thoughts away as I open up my car door and lower myself down into the vehicle.

* * *

 **well, hopefully it turned out alright! i'm not sure if you guys want more asami pov's, so it'd be nice if you told me in the reviews. i could do some alternating, or just see fit when i might write in an asami or korra pov (in other words, total randomness, haha). so having you guys tell me what you think would be awesome!**

 **if you were wondering why i haven't written in an asami pov before for this story, it's because i personally feel i have a better connection with the character korra, if that makes more sense. i feel like asami is, well, _perfect_ \- the total opposite of me (and korra, haha). so yep, that's pretty much the main reason. xD**

 **but if you guys liked it or didn't, i'd really appreciate what you thought of this chapter! (oh yeah, and with the introduction of mako and lin too!) :D**


	6. Chapter 6

**okay, here's the next installment! i didn't get any reviews *sniff sniff* last chapter, so i didn't know if you guys wanted more korra or asami pov. i thought that asami pov might be a good idea again though, because we still don't know too much about what she thinks about things. anyways, hope this chapter is a bit enjoyable!**

* * *

 **Secrets**

I've just finished my engineering class, and so found myself wandering over to the cafe on the campus grounds. I hadn't seen Korra or Opal too much during the day, sadly enough (because I really would have liked to - I've been a bit lonely today).

Making friends isn't exactly hard for me, but being the person I am, it gets increasingly annoying when people want to become friends for the wrong reasons, like I mentioned before. In saying so, there's always a bunch of guys hitting on me in the engineering class, which is quite bothersome… I'm like, the only girl in there, and sometimes it's a pain. Not to mention that since I've had a lot of practice tinkering around with vehicles and such, I know a lot more than the guys in my class do, so they often come to me for help. Or just to flirt.

I feel like sighing right now. I set down my satchel on the table and take a seat, completely oblivious to the rest of the academic duties I probably have to do later on this evening for the next time I come back to school. But I'm not going to worry about that right now. I think I'm just going to relax for a bit and enjoy this nice, peaceful atmosphere. It's a bit breezy, and I'm feeling a little exhausted having finished putting up with all those boys earlier, so I take a moment to go inside the cafe and buy myself a cup of warm coffee.

With my cup in hand I walk back outside and sink back into my seat at the table with a content sigh. There's a puff of steam billowing up from the coffee, and I blow across the top trying to cool it off a bit. In the background I can hear some noises; it's kind of late in the evening, so there aren't many people left here on campus. Still, it sounds like there's quite the event happening, and I bet I can guess what it is - it's a combination of whistle blows and splashing, along with the occasional shout or call.

Sounds like somebody's swimming to me.

Korra and Opal are in the swimming club, aren't they? Maybe I should go check it out, since I don't really have anything else to do. I shrug to myself, considering the thought a bit more. If I recall correctly, I think Korra said that she gets done with swim at around 5:30, or something like that. I look at my watch. 5:12. They should be almost done then.

I have no idea where the pool is, but I somehow manage to find my way over to it with all the splashing noises. There's a few bleachers piled up in front of a gate surrounding the area of the pool, and taking sips of my drink, I decide to make myself at home and have a seat to watch the remainder of the swim practice.

My eyes automatically scan the pool and it's outskirts for the familiar combination of tanned skin and brown hair pulled into a wolf's tail, and grin when I catch sight of Korra lifting herself up out of the pool.

Wow, Korra's a lot more shredded than I thought she was. It must be from all of that swimming she does.

I watch in silent fascination for the next few minutes, and shortly the coach calls them out for a last talk before everyone departs and begins gathering their belongings. Opal and Korra head over in the same direction, towards what I figure is the girl's locker room. Even though I'd really like to go and talk to them right now, I decide against it and tell myself to stay put and wait for them to come back out.

There's a few moments of regained silence as I sit at the bleachers by myself, once again alone with my cup of coffee (which, by the way, is almost empty). I breath out into the now cold autumn evening air, and take a look out into the mostly deserted parking lot.

"Hey Asami, whatcha doing still here?"

I jump at the sudden voice. Not knowing I had been staring out into space for so long, I guess I was spooked more easily than I would have expected. I quickly bring my head back, where I find myself confronted by Korra, her hair still slightly damp and the warm aroma of a recent shower wafting off of her skin.

"Oh, hey Korra. I was just sitting around, is all," I laugh at myself and shrug again.

Korra gives me a knowing look and my shoulders slump in feigned defeat.

"Okay, no, I wasn't really sitting around."

Korra smirks and hefts her duffle bag over her shoulder. "That's what I thought."

"I finished my engineering class, and thought it might be nice to come see you practice swim," I truthfully say, and Korra reaches up a hand to the back of her neck. She gives me a curious glance.

"...You were watching me practice, huh?"

"Mhm." I nod. "You're a really good swimmer."

Korra giggles and places her bag down on the bleachers' bottom row. "Thanks, Asami. Yeah, I've been swimming for a while, so I guess I'm alright… There's a tournament coming up though that we're trying to get ready for, so I need to do a bit more practicing if I want to get any better."

"I think you're really good already." I realize that I've said basically the same thing before, and I want to cringe at my straightforwardness.

Korra just laughs again at my comment, and I try to change the subject because I'm not used to feeling like I don't know how to control my speech. "So, I was wondering," I place the cup of coffee on my lap and give my hair a quick toss over my shoulder. "You want to hang out today? Maybe we could have a study session or something, since it's a school night. I could help you with your homework, if you want."

I hope Korra doesn't think I'm being a bit awkward or anything, but I really do want to hang out with her and get to spend some more time with her - hopefully she feels the same way. I'd like to get a little loose after a long day of harrowing school, but if it's me helping Korra with homework, I definitely wouldn't mind working on some more school-related things. For some reason I don't find myself bored when I'm with Korra, whatever it is we may be doing.

Korra takes a moment to frown and looks back up at me. She rubs the back of her neck again in what I think is hesitation. "Gah… I don't know Asami. I have to babysit tonight. I mean, I don't have any homework today or anything, but I've gotta watch these kids that belong to a close family friend of ours and I don't know if-"

"And you don't know if I'd want to come over with a bunch of kids around?" I finish for her, and she blushes. I can't help but grin at Korra's reaction.

"Well, they're kinda a rowdy bunch…"

I pick up my bag from next to me and slip the strap over my shoulder. "No, I don't mind at all. I'm actually pretty good with kids, to be honest."

Korra's eyes light up. "Really? That's awesome! You want to come over and help me with them then? I mean, I have to kinda watch them until late because their parents are going to be busy tonight, and then my parents aren't going to be home either, so it might be kinda hard just the two of us watching them by ourselves…"

Korra realizes that she's babbling again when I raise my eyebrow at her. "Haha, sorry about my rambling again."

"No worries."

"But yeah," she says, reaching out her hand for me to take as I stand up from the bleachers. I carefully take it, and she wraps her fingers around my open palm. Her own hand is comfortingly warm against my cold one, and I can feel her strong grip ensuring that I won't fall as she helps me down. "If you wanted to come over, that'd be great. Though the last time things got a bit scary when I was with them…"

I step off the last bleacher seat and giggle, Korra letting go of my hand. "Oh really? And why was that?"

Korra puts on a pout. "Because stupid Opal was behaving just like one of them, that's why! It was like trying to keep a group of three, sugar-enraged, crazy-hyper triplets under control! Honestly, it was one of the most traumatic experiences I have ever been through," she responds, eyes wide as I laugh.

"And how many kids are we watching, may I ask?" Korra and I have begun making our way to the parking lot, and our cars are parked respectively within the same area.

"There's three of them. _Not_ counting Opal."

"And Opal's not coming to help us out?"

Korra stops in her tracks and laughs. "Oh, heck no - that girl would most likely cause me more trouble than anything. I think she'd be the one who'd give me premature gray hair if I ever do get it, haha." We begin walking again, and she raises a finger in the air precariously. "You remember what happened with your car last weekend, right?"

Of course I remember, but that's not going to stop me from thinking negatively about Opal. Still, I don't think that's an answer that Korra would be exactly - _enthusiastic_ \- to hear. "Haha, of course I remember, Korra."

"Good," she shakes her finger at me and I laugh. "Meet me at my house, okay?"

"Okay," I say, and Korra heads on over to her car. "Do I need to bring anything?"

Korra puts on a thoughtful look and crosses her arms. "Maybe ten yards of rope, a few rolls of duct tape, a baseball bat, a couple of pillows, two pairs of goggles, a flamethrower…"

"Korra," I lower my head and place my arms on the top of her car, resting my chin on the back of my hands as I smile over at the brown-haired girl not too far away.

"Yes?"

"Let me handle the kids, alright? I think I'll be able to get them under control."

* * *

There's a ring at the doorbell and Korra sits up from her position on the couch almost as immediately as it was pressed, and I jump back slightly from shock.

"Holy crap, they're here!" she calls out as she runs out of the living room and towards the front door. Naga is by her side, barking in loud, short bursts. I can only laugh as I watch the two of them together, and if I didn't know any better, I would have said that the two looked something close to excited. Or maybe it could be terrified.

I can hear the door open, and I stand up from my spot on the couch as well, but unlike Korra, I'm in no hurry to get to the door. When I finally arrive I'm met by a tall bearded man, three children of various ages standing around him: two girls and a boy.

"Hiya, Tenzin, how are you doing?" Korra exclaims with a chuckle. She glances up at the tall man and he smiles tiredly before looking over at me as I side up next to Korra.

"Fine Korra, thank you. Sorry about dropping the kids on you again, it's just that Pema and I had some important business to take care of at the hospital with the next one on the way and you know how hard it gets…" He chuckles, and I can almost feel that exhausted parent vibe that literally seeps out of people that spend an ungodly amount of hours watching over their kids when they'd so much rather be doing something else. I can tell immediately that this poor man is one of them.

Korra laughs and waves a hand in Tenzin's direction. "No problem, Tenzin. Me and the kids like hanging out, don't we?" she says, giving the kids a nod.

The eldest, a girl, smiles at me and Korra politely while her brother and sister bounce around their father. "Sure, I like hanging out with you, Korra."

The middle girl is talking so fast that I don't understand, and Korra looks over to me to shake her head in agreement when I feel a tug on the leg of my sweatpants. There's a little boy clinging to my leg.

"Hey, you're pretty - what's your name, pretty lady?"

I giggle and his dad pulls him away, giving him a short scolding. "Meelo, what have I told you about bothering other people?"

"It's fine sir," I reply, and bend down to Meelo's level. I point to my chest and smile at the kid, who immediately sticks a finger up his nose. "My name's Asami. It's nice to meet you, Meelo."

He pulls the finger out of his nostril and looks over at Korra, who seems to be happy seeing as how me and the kids are getting off on the right foot (so far). "Yeah," Meelo nods to one of his sisters. She's got two cute little buns stuck on the side of her head, and she looks down at Meelo. "She's definitely going to become my wife someday."

"Geez, Meelo, stop making up stories all the time!" is his sister's reply.

"Well, you do that a lot too, Ikki, so don't be tellin' me what I can't do! Plus, I'm almost six anyways - that's almost a grown man!"

"No, it's not!"

Tenzin and his oldest daughter cringe, and I chuckle at the two's bickering. "Well, maybe I should leave now, since things aren't too bad. Yet…" Tenzin says, backing away slowly. Something tells me that he has a very good idea of what his kids are capable of.

"Yeah, maybe you should," Korra calls after him. "Oh, and Tenzin, Asami's gonna help me watch the kids too, okay? So don't worry too much, alright?"

Tenzin's already in his minivan and pulling out of the drive way, and the next thing I know me and Korra are standing alone at the door front. Where the kids have gone, I have no idea. Hopefully inside.

"Well, that went well…" Korra says slowly. "The kids are inside already, so we might as well go see what they're up to." Korra grabs me gently by the arm and I follow her, shutting the door behind the both of us. She smirks over her shoulder at me, and I can see her clear blue eyes are sparkling with mischief. "Or what we're up against."

I laugh nervously. "It can't be that bad, Korra."

We enter the living room, and Korra lets go of my arm. "I guess you're just going to have to find out and see for yourself then, aren't you Asami?"

"So are you two dating or something?"

Oh my god I think I almost had a heart attack. Not because of the question, but because Ikki literally just randomly appeared out of nowhere in front of Korra and I. Dear Jesus, maybe Korra was right. Should I be scared?

I feel my cheeks burn some, but I'm nowhere near as red as Korra is turning. "What the heck? Definitely not, Ikki! Why would you say that?" Korra gives Ikki a soft swat on the head, and I cover my mouth with my hand to stifle a laugh.

"I don't know… you were like, holding her hand or something when you walked into the room, weren't you?"

"Stop imagining things, Ikki," Korra says, plopping down on the couch as she picks up the tv remote and begins switching through channels.

I chuckle to myself. Korra can't be embarrassed about Ikki's comment, can she? Maybe I could use this to my advantage, even if it might just be for fun. To see Korra's reaction. I take a seat on the opposite side of the couch and get cozy, pulling up my knees to my chest as I eye Korra, who's still busy flipping through channels. "Korra, why would you lie to these dear children?"

Korra pauses her channel-flipping and gives me a curious stare. "What are you talking about, Asami? I'm not lying to them."

"My mommy always says that lying is bad," Ikki points out as she leans in close to Korra to shake a finger at her.

I nod. "That's exactly right, Ikki. Lying is a terrible habit, and it's definitely not good to get into. It's like smoking."

"Korra smokes?" Meelo asks from his handstand on the carpet, and Korra makes a face. "What does she smoke?"

"No, Korra doesn't smoke," the older girl replies (I don't know her name yet). She's sitting on the floor beside Naga, petting her in a mannerly fashion while her smaller brother and sister spin around the couch. "Asami is just using it as an example." She looks up at me and smiles. "My name is Jinora, by the way."

"Hi there," I smile and give a little wave. "I'm Asami. It's nice to meet you, Jinora."

"So you and Korra _are_ dating then?" Ikki asks again before I can say anything else, and Korra looks my way with a disturbed (yet awfully cute) expression.

"Of course we are - aren't we, sweetie?" I lean in closer to Korra, who's pretty much frozen now, and wrap my arms around her neck before giving her a quick peck on the cheek. I can feel her skin burn against my lips and a shudder run through her. I grin devilishly.

"A-Asami, what are you-" she tries, attempting to pull away.

My manual grip doesn't falter, but the next thing I know I find another pair of hands linking themselves around me. Only they aren't Korra's.

It's Meelo, his tiny hands snaking their way around my waist. "Hey, you're going to be my wife instead, right?"

Korra looks over at us and frowns. "Don't bother her, Meelo."

"I don't know," I say slyly, completely disregarding Korra's last comment. "I'd have to see what Korra says." I think it's kind of fun, playing with Korra like this. I'm sure she's having a little trouble comprehending the situation, but I can't help but watch her make such cute reactions to all the things the kids and I are 'cooking up' (although they have no idea they're playing along with me).

I look over at Korra and she sees me staring, so I wink.

"What - are you gonna stay there quiet all day, or are you gonna say something, woman?" Meelo inquires as he trades places and moves himself over to Korra's lap. He looks impatient.

Meelo falls back onto me as Korra stands up rapidly, a heavy blush dusting her cheeks as she puts her hands on her hips. "Well, I'm sorry," she says, giving Meelo a sarcastic tone, "but I don't really think I'm ready for dating yet, or anything… Remember what happened last time?"

What happened last time? I wonder what she means by that.

Ikki puts a finger to her chin thoughtfully as she looks away. "Oh yeah… That didn't end so well."

Jinora stands up. "How about we go to the park or something? There doesn't seem to be anything good on tv right now anyways."

Okay - wait - what's happening? Am I missing something?

"Great!" I'm surprised at how excited Korra became so quickly; she looked a bit troubled a few seconds ago. "Yeah, the park sounds awesome!" She points a finger at Jinora and the girl smiles. "Jinora, you are a genius, my darling."

Jinora laughs and reaches down to pet Naga again as Korra heads off to one end of the living room to open up the closet, where she begins sorting through the jackets clumsily propped on the hangers. "I'm just here to help, Korra."

I can feel Meelo wiggle in my lap, but my mind is nowhere near his rough, somewhat ticklish fidgeting. Is it just me, or was it almost like these three kids know something about Korra that I don't? Something she's not telling me? It was like they all took a silent vote to suddenly change the subject about dating. And here I am, the only one out of the ring I was once leading.

"Alright!" Korra pulls out a pair of hoodies from from behind her back and lets them dangle loosely in the air. "Want a jacket, Asami? It's kind of chilly outside, and I don't think you'd want to get sick. The kids already have their own jackets, so I think they'll be fine."

I give myself a mental slap to the face and turn my head over Meelo's shoulder to give Korra a reply. "Oh, um, sure - that'd be great. Thanks Korra!" Gently I remove Meelo from my lap, and make my way over to Korra, who holds out a comfy-looking maroon jacket to me. I carefully take it and slip my arms through, and it fits perfectly. "I'm sure this'll keep me really warm."

Korra gives me a small grin and slips into her own jacket, which is a dark navy blue color. Her cheeks are still slightly red, and I find my mind still wandering to the previous incident a few moments ago that seemed to cause her such discomfort. Maybe it was something that I said? She doesn't say anything, and instead walks over to Meelo and Ikki, who are practically bouncing by the door.

"Can we take Naga with us?" Ikki asks excitedly, and Meelo nods in agreement. Jinora calmly walks on over to her siblings, zipping up her jacket as she goes.

"Sure, I think Naga would love to go for a walk," Korra reaches down to pet Naga before standing back up. "I'll go get her leash and then we can be on our way, alright? Brb."

Korra exits the room and I give the kids a curious look. Jinora seems to be the only one who understands what I'm getting at, and she covers her mouth with one hand away from her brother and sister and whispers in a hushed voice: " _I'll tell you later."_

I mouth back an " _Okay"_ and we freeze as Korra enters the room again, a brown leather leash wrapped up tightly in her hand.

"Alrighty guys, let's go get some sunshine!" Korra says with a powerful fist pump in the air, followed by two smaller ones from Meelo and Ikki while Jinora and I look on with matching smiles.

"Korra, you know it's almost 7 o'clock, don't you? The sun is almost done setting and there won't be much sunlight by the time we get to the park-" Jinora tries before Korra hushes her, opening up the front door as she steps through.

"Geez Jinora, I was just trying to be enthusiastic, alright? Don't go trying to rain on my parade."

Jinora laughs and follows Korra and her siblings through the door, and I walk along beside her. Korra comes back to lock the door behind us, and then we're on our way down the sidewalk headed to the park, Naga leading the way.

Ikki and Meelo are up there in the front with Naga and Korra, who's having a bit of trouble trying to control all three of them. I giggle to myself at her unconscious adorability.

Leaves tainted crimson and orange slide on down the pavement, and the occasional car blows a few more our way as we continue walking. It's a nice fall evening, and I take a refreshing breath of the cool, crisp air. Korra was right; it is a bit chilly out here. I snuggle up deeper into the hoodie.

"You wanted to know about Korra, right?"

I turn my head and remember Jinora was walking by me this whole time. It was a little surprising hearing her voice though, because things were so quiet back here, differentiating us from the loud commotion coming from up front.

Jinora brushes a short curl of brown hair behind her ear. "It might be a good time if you wanted to know about it, since, you know - Korra has her hands full right now." She giggles and motions to the front, and I see what she means. Meelo and Ikki have practically glued themselves to Korra's back in what I think is an attempt at a double piggyback, and Korra has on the best face as she struggles to continue down the sidewalk while simultaneously trying to control Naga.

"Um, yeah…" I say kind of nervously. Wait - why am I nervous about this anyways? "What was all that about back there? I mean, did I say something wrong?"

Jinora chuckles and shakes her head, and I find myself feeling a bit more relaxed. "No - nothing was your fault. I knew you were playing with Korra from the beginning. She's just a tough nut to crack, is all."

A tough nut to crack, huh? I look back to the front to rest my eyes on Korra again. She's been pretty open with me so far, I think. But Jinora's right; there could be some things she has still yet to tell me of. "I thought she might have been a bit bothered about what I had been saying - do you think that's true?"

"Korra's had a bit of a short and disappointing past relationship the last time she dated someone," Jinora says with a frown.

"Really? What happened?"

"Well… You've met Mako, right?"

Mako. _Him?_ "Korra… Korra dated Mako?"

"Mhm. It was kind of one of those premature, spur-of-the-moment relationships, when you think you're in love with someone but are too young to realize what your feelings really are for them." She pauses and thinks for a moment. "I think it's just a combination of puberty and hormones, mostly."

I still can't help getting over the notion that Korra and Mako actually dated for a short while. I don't know why - he just doesn't seem like he would be her type, is what I think. But then again, what would her type be anyways?

"Anyways," Jinora continues, "they dated for a week or two back when they were in high school, but things didn't end up working out, so they broke up. And Korra ended up with more than just a regretful memory; she was also a bit tainted by the briskness of it all. You know, with her emotions and everything. That's why they've decided to just be friends, because they know that that's the only thing they'll ever see themselves being."

I nod my head in understanding. "I see… So she got a little uncomfortable when I started talking about dating and all that because it brought up unwanted memories."

"That's what I thought." Jinora kicks away a pebble from the sidewalk, and I watch it skid into the street. "Ikki and Meelo also know about it; we've been really close friends with Korra since, like, we were born, so we were just trying to help her out by changing the subject."

I glance up at a tall oak tree, which it's leave are beginning to sprout into a flaming orange color. I wonder why Korra hadn't told me this before. I know we haven't known each other for very long in retrospect, but I just thought that she might have trusted me a little more about something like that. I quirk my head, a new idea popping into my mind. Maybe Korra hadn't spoken about it before because she wants to forget about it. Yes, that could be a definite possibility.

"I know that Korra doesn't harbor any hard feelings against you for reminding her of her past experience, but I'm sure she has her reasons for staying quiet about it," Jinora says with a sweet smile.

"Probably," I say, and then Jinora shrugs.

"For the record, I think if you two ever did date that you'd make a really cute couple," Jinora confesses with the faint trace of a blush creeping across the top of her cheeks.

I don't know what to do except smile back at Jinora's comment. Me and Korra, huh? It's not something that I'd be exactly opposed to, but I don't know if either of us are at that point yet, if you know what I mean.

Right now, maybe what Korra needs is help. _Comfort._ If what she wants is to forget her past, then that's what I'll do. I'll help her forget her past.

* * *

 **so i guess asami has to have some kind of plan to help korra forget her tragic past love? O.o we'll have to see about that, because korra might not be as distressed as asami thinks she is - _yet_... *smirks sneakily* **

**it was somewhat hard getting out this chapter; school has proven to be more demanding, and I have a lot of projects coming up (but then again, what else is new?). xD i apologize in advance if you're expecting a chapter a certain day, but it might not come out when you think it will. still, i promise i will do my best to update weekly, if possible.**

 **and finally, please review if you have the time - i'd really like to hear what you think about the asami pov's so far! :D**


	7. Chapter 7

**first of all i'd just like to say thank you for all of you that reviewed; the thoughts and comments were all very much appreciated! :) and i'm happy to hear that you guys are liking the asami pov's, so i thought i'd do another yet again. ;D**

 **i'm not too sure were i'm going with this yet; i had a bit of a rough time trying to figure out what was going to happen in this chapter. i literally spent a few hours out of my week thinking about it (is that even normal, haha?). hopefully this'll be a nice transition though into the next one, and thing will start flowing together more so my brain won't hurt as often! xD**

* * *

 **The Game Plan**

 _I threw a wish in the well, don't ask me I'll never tell_

 _I looked to you as it fell and now you're in my way~_

I was scribbling furiously on a semi-blank piece of college ruled paper. Notice the past tense. Now I'm not doing anything really except thinking about what happened the other day at Korra's house. So _now_ what I'm doing is thinking. What am I thinking about? Well, I guess you could say I'm thinking about Korra. More specifically how exactly I can do my best for her if she already tries so hard for me.

 _I trade my soul for a wish, pennies and dimes for a kiss_

 _I wasn't looking for this but now you're in my way~_

This is actually a lot harder than I thought it would be. I tap the tip of my pen on the hardwood table and frown. I'm sure there's more than a few people wondering what Asami Sato is doing here in the library by herself, staring at a piece of paper that I don't seem to be writing on with a conflicted look on my face. Since I'm an engineer, I have a habit of pulling out a piece of paper and a pen when I want to brainstorm or think of ideas - you know, sketching is something that comes easy to me, since it's been something I've done for years.

 _Your stare was holding, skin was showing_

 _Hot night wind was blowi-_

I feel a tap on my shoulder and pull out my earbud.

It's Opal, giving me one of her quirky smiles. "Hey, Asami."

"Oh hi, Opal," I smile back and quickly try to make myself look a little more concentrated than before.

Opal pulls out one of the chairs opposite from me. "Is it alright if I sit with you?"

I nod and Opal takes a seat.

"So watcha up to, Asami? It looks like you're working on homework or something," Opal says, her olive eyes flashing vibrantly with excitement. If she only knew that I'm trying to think of ways to comfort Korra maybe she wouldn't be so enthusiastic about conversing with me.

"Just thinking, is all," I reply with a short sigh. I wonder where Korra is, if she's not with Opal right now? Maybe she's in a class; I think Korra's told me before that her and Opal only share one class together.

Opal raises and eyebrow curiously. "What about? It looks like you've got something heavy on your mind."

I lift up my phone slightly from the table and catch a glimpse of my reflection on the darkened screen. I do look very preoccupied, that's for sure. Maybe confiding in Opal might not be such a bad idea; she's known Korra for longer than I have, so she might have some idea as to what might be a helpful suggestion.

I sigh again, this time more softly than before. "I've been thinking about Korra."

"Korra?" Opal looks a little taken aback. "Is there something wrong with her? Now that you mention it, I think you're right, she's always been somewhat peculiar to me-"

"No," I giggle. "There's nothing wrong with Korra." I take a moment to think. Maybe I'm wrong. "Wait - it's not that there's something wrong with Korra, really… It's more of an issue that I'd like to solve between her and I."

Opal pushes herself back in her chair, the level of her voice raising a few decibels. "Omigod did you guys get into a fight or something?" Opal gasps, and I almost feel like face-palming. Calm down Asami, calm down.

"No, it's not that-"

"Did she suddenly develop some kind of tragic life-threatening disease where she says she can't be with you anymore and you can't bear the thought of living without her?"

I try a fatigued grin. "...Opal, it's nothing like that, really."

Opal laughs and I relax, knowing she was only playing. "Heh, I know - I'm just joking with you." She takes a moment to give me a playful smirk. "Although if that ever happened, I'd be right there with you at her funeral, just so you know."

"Let's not talk about Korra dying just yet."

"Alright. Got it. Sorry."

I take a deep breath to make sure I'm prepared to say this. Opal is someone I can trust, I'd like to think. I'm sure she can help me out here. There's no need to be so nervous. "I want to know how to get Korra to open up to me. I want her to confide in me, if you know what I mean."

"Why would you want that?" Opal half chuckles, half scoffs. "That girl has more than her share of problems; I don't think you'd want to be involved more than you are now in her life."

"But that's exactly _why_ I want her to confide in me," I put down my pen and rest a hand under my chin, propping up my elbow on the table. "I want to be someone who can comfort her. I know she has problems and issues - and I want to be the person to fix that. She's already done more than enough for me just by being my friend."

Opal grins and shakes her head at me. "Well… Aren't you dedicated?"

"Very," I grin back. Now I think we're getting somewhere. I lean in closer to Opal across the table. "So what do you think? How do you think I can get close enough to her that she'll start opening up to me more?"

Opal reaches a hand up to her chin, where she begins to stroke an imaginary beard in deep thought. "Hmm… That's a good question, Miss Sato…" Opal looks up at me again after a few seconds of silence. "Do you have any ideas?"

I want to say what I'm thinking of saying next, but I don't know if I should. It's because I'm not entirely sure, but if I am correct, then it could actually prove to be beneficial if I want to get closer to Korra and have her open up to me more. Maybe I should ask Opal if she sees it too. "Well, I'm not exactly too sure about this, but maybe if I am right it could help with me being able to comfort Korra."

"Go ahead," Opal waves her hand at me. "No one's going to stop you, it's a free country. What are you thinking?"

"I-" My voice is sounding more shaky than I expected. "I was thinking - maybe Korra kind of likes me?"

I'm kind of nervous after spilling this bout of information to Opal, but she remains straight-faced. Then out of nowhere she throws her hands to cover her mouth as her cheeks puff out and she tries to control her laughing.

I look around us quickly. One of the librarians turns her attention to us over at our table and gives me a deathly glare. "Opal," I try whispering, and place my hand on Opal's shoulder as I lean over the table. "What's so funny? You have to stop laughing so loud; we're in the library and people are staring at us."

Opal continues giggling for a while after calming down, and in a few moments she's at the point where she can talk again without being misunderstood since her previous fit of violent laughter. "Oh my god Asami, you're too funny…" Opal says, wiping away a tear.

I scrunch my eyebrows together. "What are you talking about? I'm being serious."

"No, I know you're being serious," Opal chuckles. "It's just that I can't believe that you've only begun to realize that Korra likes you!"

What? Was it that apparent to everyone already? "So she - she does like me, you think?" I ask her, my heartbeat steadily rising.

"Of course she does! She talks about you _all the time_ to me when you aren't around, like about all the fun you two have together and all that. She really admires and adores you, you know. It's more than crystal clear to me that you're someone really important to her."

I can't help but smile at Opal. Okay, well, maybe she thought I meant a _different_ kind of like… Paternally is probably what she thought I meant. Still, at least I get the gist. Korra admires and adores me. I'd like to think that's something I can work with. It's like what my dad used to tell me when I was younger: a Sato can make almost anything out of nothing. You've just got to put your mind to it.

That little hunch I've got about Korra liking me might actually be something. Those embarrassed smiles when I lean in close to her, her shaky replies when I play with her, or even that last time when I felt a shiver make its way across her skin as I placed a quick peck to her cheek. That has to mean something, right? It wouldn't hurt if I tried to investigate it; it could definitely be a way that I can get closer to Korra. If I was in my workshop right now sitting at my desk, I'd pull the light switch above my head - I think a really good idea has just been born.

"Opal -" I say to the girl across from me. She still has an unbelievably wide smile running across her face, and I know she's in a really good mood. "What would you say to the idea of friend dating?" If we're stuck in the friend zone right now, maybe this would be a good idea to bump things up a little bit? I mean, Korra doesn't have to know that we're friend dating; but it could be something like that. It'd be an easy way for her to feel more comfortable around me and for her to be willing to open up to me more so I can become someone she can confide in. Wow, I'm really starting to feel sly now. Then again, I can't help it.

I grin at Opal, who has a slightly dumbfounded look on her face. She places an index finger to her lips, and I notice that her cheeks are tinted pink. "A-Ah, I don't know what to say Asami… I didn't know you were into m-me, if that's what you're implying…"

Dear lord. That is _not_ what I was saying. "No, no, no - sorry Opal!" I chuckle, waving my arms in front of me a little, as if trying to get rid of the current state of awkwardness. "I was talking about me and Korra, not you and I. Sorry if I confused you!"

The confusion written on Opal's face is quickly replaced by a look of relief. Opal runs the back of her hand across her forehead and sighs. "Phew! Haha, sorry for the mix-up then - I guess I got a little too carried away and jumped to conclusions. It's not that I don't like you or anything, it's just that I kinda..." She tilts her head form side to side in consideration before biting her lip. "...Already like someone else, but you probably already know who it is…"

I have to laugh. "Yeah, sorry for the mix-up. But I was talking about Korra and I." This could be a really good idea; I wonder if Opal will think it'll work? "But if Korra and I 'friend dated'," I make sure to add some air quotes when I say this, just in case things might not exactly go as planned. You never know what happens. "do you think she might open up to me more?"

Again Opal begins to stroke her non-existent beard. "Maybe. Now we might be getting somewhere."

"She doesn't have to know that we're friend dating, but if I make it like that, then she might feel more comfortable opening up to me, don't you think?"

Opal nods in agreement slowly, taking the idea into careful consideration. "Yes, yes… That might actually work… You mean, you won't imply that you're 'friend dating', just kind of be there in that kind of zone, where things will hopefully be more relaxed between the two of you, amiright?"

There's a matching mischievous twinkle in Opal's eyes that I'm sure she can see in mine. Now we're talking. "That's _exactly_ what I mean."

"Mhm, I see what you're talking about now." Based on the expression on Opal's face I almost expect her to start growing a pair of devil horns. "Yep, from what I know Korra _does_ need a little love in her life," Opal says, more to herself than to me. "You know Asami, I think this might actually be something good for her, now that I think about it."

"Well, I'm glad that you agree with me Opal," I reply, and give my hair a soft toss over my shoulder. This could actually work.

Now I'm starting to feel more hopeful about things. Who knew that one short conversation with Opal would turn out to be something so configuring. I lean down to pick up my satchel and stand up from my chair, throwing the strap over my shoulder.

"Hey," Opal calls out as quietly as she can without drawing too much attention. "Where are you going, Asami?"

"You're coming with me, Opal," I tell her, and she immediately rises as well, rushing over as we both make our way out the library door. "We're going to start putting this plan into action."

* * *

Before Korra got out of class Opal and I did a bit more brainstorming. You know, things (a few ideas were tossed around, but we weren't really able to come up with something agreeable yet) Korra and I could do together that she wouldn't really notice were things that a 'couple' would most likely do.

At least that's what Opal told me. Apparently, Korra doesn't have very high depth perception when it comes to feelings and whatnot. Which I'm not sure yet is either a good or bad thing when it comes to 'friend dating'. I guess you could look at it two ways. If everything goes well, she might not even realize what I'm trying to attempt. If she does realize that I'm trying to find a suitable way to get closer to her in order to be someone she can trust more, then hopefully she won't take my method the wrong way.

I would also like to point out that I'm not a pro when it comes to dating. Of course I've dated a few guys here and there… Things just didn't work out. The reason so was because pretty much every guy that I've ever dated was after something other than me. Yes, they'd get the pretty girl, but they'd also get a heaping pile of cash and a secured financial bedrock inheritance in Future Industries as well. And sadly that last part is was what most of them were after.

In a way I'd like to think that Korra and I are in a similar position; having had different yet painful experiences with our past relationships. If I do end up going through with this plan, I'm hoping that maybe it could help the both of us heal. I know things are going to be drastically different with Korra than they were with those other guys. She's just - _different._ She's sweet, and considerate, and adorable, and unique, and funny…

I think that's all the incentive I need to make me go through with this.

I lie down on my stomach, sprawled out lazily on the couch in my estate's living room. I'm trying to think about this a bit more. When I was talking to Opal, I think that I was a little too excited, maybe more than I should have been. But the more that I consider this idea, the more I start to like it. Would getting closer to Korra actually lead to this technical friend-dating thing? I think - okay, maybe I _do_ consider myself to be leaning in that direction - but I do kind of like Korra. I don't see what problem there could be if we both liked each other, right? And if everything turned out fine, then maybe I'd even have someone closer than just a friend. We could be - I don't know - maybe girlfriends?

Still, I wouldn't want to make her do anything she wouldn't want to do. So if she's not into me, then I'll accept what she feels or has to say. It's what a friend would do.

And don't even get me started on that little nagging notion in the back of my mind that is begging for me to believe that maybe Korra might have some sort of feelings for me too. But since I'm a rational sort of person who tries to build on the foundation of materiality, then I have to be the realist that I am and push aside that thought for now; it's too soon to tell.

So. Step 1 of the 'Friend Dating Plan (ft. Korra)'?

According to Opal, that would mean hanging out a lot; which Korra and I have been doing for a while. We had to skip down onto the next part that comes after spending time together.

And that means doing something more official in terms of a relationship; taking it one step further than just hanging out.

Okay, Asami, take a deep breath. I reach out for one of the couch's cushions and hug it to my chest, propping up my torso.

What could Korra and I do that would be considered something two girls would do together who are friends but might want to be something more than friends, with one of them having some kind of secret plan to get closer to the other without her knowing?

God, I am so awkward.

I've never done this before. I think I might need some help.

I know what you're thinking; the super-genius engineering Asami Sato has no idea what to do for a first date?

Yes. I'm shaking my head at myself too.

I decide to look up some safe first date ideas to do in our area.

Scrolling down on my phone, I start to realize that there are a bunch of different, fun things that Korra and I could do together that she might not realize would be something I'm thinking of in a more romantic sense.

Wow, there's really a lot of good suggestions here… There's one that I'm finding sounds pretty fun, and it's actually something that we could do that won't take up the whole evening (I think it would be nice to get started on the plan soon, hehe). I wonder if Korra would also think it'd be something she'd be up for? Maybe I should ask her.

I decide to text Korra. I know she's just gotten out of swim since it's almost 6 o'clock, and she's probably either on her way home or there already. Maybe I might be able to get her free, and we'd be able to go out on this 'date'.

 **Me:** _hey, do you want to hang out this evening if you're free?_

I find myself cringing a little at my use of the words 'hang out'. I know it's not really what I have in mind, but I can't exactly tell Korra that yet.

There's a few minutes before I get a reply, and when I feel the phone vibrate on the couch's seat, I quickly reach for my phone.

 **Korra:** _haha, you again asami? (not that i mind, hehe). ;P hmm… do i want to hang out…_

I grin at the screen, knowing full well that Korra's pretending to think my question over.

 **Me:** _it's a one time offer; you can either take it or leave it. ;)_

 **Korra:** _well, if you put it that way i guess i have no other choice than to take you up on your offer._

My grin widens when Korra texts me another message.

 **Korra:** _now what did you have in mind for this evening, miss sato?_

 **Me:** _hm. i was thinking it might be nice if maybe you wanted to have a night on the town?_

 **Korra:** _wow, asami, that's sounds pretty cool - anywhere specific?_

I crack into a smug grin I wish Korra could see on my face right now.

 **Me:** _how about going to the lake? they have some cool stuff we could do there. plus, you said that you would show me around, remember? ;)_

I can almost hear Korra sighing in defeat in my head. Yep, she did tell me that when we first met.

 **Korra:** _chicken nuggets… yeah, i did say that. okay, we can do the lake. i just can't stay out too late, alright? gotta be back home before the parents know i'm missing, haha. xD_

I chuckle and smile at the screen. Of course that shouldn't be a problem.

There's another vibration within the palm of my hand, and I look at the screen again.

 **Korra:** _what time do you want to meet at the lake?_

 **Me:** _how about 7:30? ;)_

 **Korra:** _sounds perfect! :)_

Oh man, this is great - I've got a date with Korra! God, I didn't know it was going to be so easy asking her out just like that… Wait a minute Asami, you didn't exactly ask Korra out yet. She has no idea that you're setting her up for a date with yourself, so she's more than likely to think of it as another outing with a friend.

Sometimes that rational part of me really gets on my nerves.

Jumping up from the couch I waltz out of the living room and head over to my room, gathering up some clean clothes for a shower.

In a matter of minutes (I really don't want to be late for this 'date') I'm out of the steaming water, the bathroom still a little foggy from the heat. I grab a hand towel and run it through my hair, scrunching it up here and there to soak up the water.

I stare at myself in the mirror for a brief while, contemplating how I look. My hair's still a bit wet, and I've managed to change into an outfit I think would be good for this kind of activity. It's not really anything special; just a pair of regular skinny jeans, a dark grey tank top, and a comfy black sweater thrown over it. Not to mention that I don't also want to dress too nice because it makes me stand out more, and I don't want anything like what occurred at the mall to happen again. That would be awful.

After putting on some lipstick, I think I'm about ready.

Leaving my room after grabbing my purse I walk through the rest of the house on down the hallway. Everything is very quiet; almost dead silent. It's not like it's something that I'm not used to; it's been like this for years. My dad is hardly ever at home, and when he is, he's usually busy working in his office and doesn't have much time to be spending with his daughter.

I decide to stop by his office and take a peek through the small crack of the open door. Like I figured there's no one there, but his office desk is littered with various piles of paperwork and a lamp is casting softly glowing light over the top. A twinge of sadness surges through my being slowly. It's hard being alone for most of your life.

I silently shut the door and make my way out of the mansion.

Outside I glance up at the sky before getting into my convertible. The sky has turned a deep shade of blue, and I know that night will be falling soon. The sky always gets darker during the fall and winter months because of days growing shorter, but I don't mind. It'd be more romantic going out during this time of the day, I think. The lights around the lake bouncing off the surface of the rippling water, Korra and I enjoying ourselves by having something warm to eat at the cafe, watching the sun sink below the horizon together (if it hasn't happened to already by the time we get there)...

All in all, it should be a wonderful first date. I hope.

* * *

 **so there ya go! so i guess now you know what asami's plan is and how she thinks she can get closer to korra, gaining more than a friend at the same time. i wonder how their first 'date' is going to go? O.o**

 **sadly I've never been on a date before *goes off crying to a corner of the room*, so i had to do a bit of 'research' to find out some good date ideas, and also to look up the concept of 'friend dating' (hello again, urban dictionary!). xD this, as you can tell, is merely one but many of the final products of my long study, haha. since** **i had a bit of trouble with this chap, if you had some ideas of what you might want to see happen next, that'd be nice to know! (so far i'm thinking having them go paddle boating would be fun to see...). even if i don't end up using them in the next chapter, i could definitely see if they'd fit well somewhere in the future!**

 **i hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and i would really appreciate reviews if you get the chance! :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**alright, here's the next chapter, involving the event of the 'date'!**

* * *

 **Misunderstandings**

It surprises me that Korra was actually able to make it to the lake before I could. It's probably due to the fact that she knows her way around the city more than I do - I've only been here for a few weeks.

Walking up to the small cafe at the lake entrance I manage to see Korra sitting alone at one of the tables, palming her phone in one hand while she concentrates on the screen.

I grin. This is _exactly_ what she was doing the last time we met up somewhere, wasn't it? Well, I have to say it's another cute side of her that I've learned to acknowledge. I'll have to do something about her and that phone of hers though; she never seems to know when I'm here or not. But of course I won't scare her this time. It's a 'date', remember? I'd be a cruel, heartless person to scare the pants off my date within the first minute.

Instead I calmly walk up to the table, and stand there for a moment until Korra looks up, which doesn't take long at all. I smile. "Hi Korra."

"Oh - haha, hey, Asami," Korra says to me, and quickly stands up from the wooden chair on the cafe's porch. A small blush creeps over her cheeks as she looks me over (I'd like to think). "Uh, you look nice."

"Thanks," I reply, feeling a bit smug with myself at Korra's bashfulness. Korra's sporting a pair of jeans as well, and a black hoodie with a brown jacket over. What catches me off guard though isn't her outfit; it's her hair. I move a little closer to her and run a hand through her hair, which it looks like she's decided to wear down today, as opposed to her usual wolf's tail. "I like your hair," I tell her.

Korra swiftly reaches up to run a hand over the back of her neck, and it lightly brushes against mine as the blush across her cheeks deepens. "Oh, yeah… I had to take a shower after swim, so I thought it might be good to let it down so it could dry out."

I pull back my hand. "It looks nice." Just like I'd thought, her hair is really soft and when not in a wolf's tail it's somewhat wavy, making Korra look really cute.

"Ah, thanks…"

There's a brief moment of awkwardness as Korra attempts to regain her composure, but it only makes me see just how self-conscious she can be sometimes when it comes to compliments. This would be the part where I scrunch myself up into a little ball because I can't contain her unbelievable amount of adorableness. It's definitely off the charts.

"Come on," I say, deciding to take the lead. Korra still has one hand behind her neck, so I grab her by the other hand. "I want to go do something over here," I say over my shoulder as I point in the direction of the lake with my free hand.

Korra chuckles and obediently allows me to pull her, and I don't see any noticeable discomfort. So far so good. "Haha, whatever you say, Asami."

There just so happens to be a few people here at the lake at this hour; it seems like it's a common meeting place for people of various ages, but most of the people here that I see right now are around the same age as Korra and I. It's probably because they have nothing else to do at this hour except hang out with a group of friends and have some fun out in the fresh autumn air. My kind of mentality.

I stop pulling Korra when we reach the paddle boating rental station. "Alright - here we are."

Korra gingerly tightens her grip on my hand, and I try not to smile to myself in case she happens to see. I'm glad her hand is still in mine, but I just don't want to seem too giddy about it, if you catch my drift. "You want to go paddle boating?"

I nod and grin. "Yep - never done it before, and I hear it's supposed to be really fun."

Before Korra can say anything else I walk over to the rental stand and step up to the window. There isn't a line, so we happen to be the only people at the moment. I look at the teenage boy on the other side, casually flipping the pages of a magazine. Sensing my presence he looks up.

"What's up?"

"Can I please rent a paddle boat for a half hour, please?"

"Hey, aren't you -"

"Half an hour please." Korra butts in quickly, gently scooching me over to the side of the counter so that the boy doesn't get to finish his sentence. I can't help but chuckle at Korra's forward attitude; I know she's only trying to do this to protect me (from having this guy rat out that Asami Sato is here at the lake), if you haven't noticed.

The boy has a confused look on his face but obliges after Korra remains glued in front of the window with a serious, tight-lipped mouth, which she only opens to thank him after he hands us some tickets once we've payed.

I'm about to thank the boy too when this time instead of me grabbing Korra by the hand she assertively makes a grab for mine, and lugs me away. "Come on Asami, let's go get to our boat."

I twist around as we near the dock, a sly grin on my face. "I noticed you were getting all protective back there, huh?"

Korra only shrugs nervously. "I couldn't let him find out it was you… If he did, it could've ruined the evening, right?" she says as she turns around to face me. There's a small smile playfully tugging at the corner of her lips, and her eyes are shining in a way I haven't seen before. They look almost - _passionate_.

I smile back at Korra. "You're right. Thanks for that."

Korra hands the dock/paddle boat rental man our tickets, and tells us we can choose any of the paddle boats left tied to the dock that we want to ride in.

I find one that I think is particularly interesting, and while Korra is looking at one end I call her over to where I'm standing by the water. "Korra, how about this one?"

Korra walks over and raises an eyebrow at the boat. "It's a duck. And a turtle."

"Yeah," I say in a voice that I would label as borderline weird borderline stupid.

"I don't even know what it is," Korra bends down closer to the boat and tilts her head to the side. "A duck? A turtle? A turtleduck?"

"I don't know, but I think it's cute." I carefully step down into the boat and take a seat. "How about we go in this one?" I say and pat the seat next to me.

Korra laughs and steps down into the boat as well, and the boat guy walks over to untie it for us.

"Have a good time!" the man calls after us, and we wave back to him as we start paddling away.

Oh, don't worry, I plan to have the best time that's possibly possible.

Okay Asami. We have to create a romantic mood if we want something romantic to happen, right? Hm. Romantic… Maybe the first thing would be separating ourselves from the rest of the people on the lake to get a nice mood going? It's worth a shot.

There's only a small tinge of orange left brushing the edges of the sky, which means the sun is almost done setting. So much for watching the sunset together… But hey, I'm not going to let that ruin the rest of the evening for me. There's still so much we can do.

"Hey, want to go over there?" I point out to Korra, who has her eye on the shoreline. I gesture my attention to an area near the other side of the lake (which, by the way, isn't too big), where there doesn't happen to be anyone. It looks like a nice place where maybe we could do some talking… Or something… And we'd have a nice view of the rest of the lake and the area surrounding it too.

"Sure, sounds good to me," is Korra's reply as she tosses me a smile.

We paddle on for a bit in silence. Come on Asami, say something. "So, uh, Korra -" I try to think of something within the boundary of being semi-romantic and find myself again drawn to the sky. "Don't you think it's a beautiful evening? Look, I think we made it just in time to see the stars come out."

I wasn't really expecting Korra to be so enthusiastic, but her answer is something that I find extremely endearing. "Yeah," she says, turning her attention to the sky. "The stars really are beautiful tonight."

I can't stop myself from looking over at her as we paddle. Her attention is still resting on the heavens above us, and there's an intrigued and amazed sparkle in her icy blue eyes, the bright stars reflected in her irises.

My admiring Korra fixation is shattered when Korra looks back to me, a crooked grin spreading across her face. "What is it? Do I have something on my face?"

"Oh, uh, no." I shake my head slowly. "I was just watching you looking up at the stars," I tell her with a smile.

"And you think watching me is something interesting?" she says back to me, a curious edge to her voice. Partnered with her grin, it's comes across to me as something inquiring in a flirtatious manner. Which I hope I'm interpreting right.

I don't hesitate to fight back a light blush. "I certainly think so."

Korra laughs and looks back down at her feet, which are paddling slowly but with enough force to keep moving us through the water. "Haha, I've never heard anyone say that to me before." She looks back up to me again, this time a bit abashedly. "Of course I'm not taking it the wrong, way though."

"That's good," I say. I think Korra is still a bit cautious when it comes to opening up to me. It's not that I don't think she doesn't want to - maybe she's just not ready yet to share more things than she thinks is necessary, or important, for that matter. I've thought of this before, and it always comes back to the same conclusion: I have to make the first move. If I don't do anything, we'll most likely be stuck in the same place for who knows how long. I've got to step it up.

"Um, Korra?" I try, glancing at the girl next to me. Korra is still smiling up at the sky, and I hate to ruin the comfortable mood we've somehow managed to create. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," Korra replies without looking back at me.

"I - I wanted to know what you thought about me, if that's fine."

Korra brings her head back down and gives me a quizzical look. "What I think about you?"

"Mhm."

She looks back out over the water's surface which has now taken on a dark color, except for the areas scattered near the shore that reflect the glittering lights of the cafe, as well as the stunning stars in the sky.

"Well, I like you a lot. You've been a really good friend to me so far, and I'd like to thank you for that."

"You're most welcome. Anything else?" I grin, nudging her in the side, and she giggles.

"Um, you're really funny, and extremely nice…"

I nod. "Uh-huh…"

"And you're really cool…"

"Okay."

"Um, you're - you're super pretty too…" Korra mumbles softly.

"Why thank you," I say.

"Why - Why do you ask?" she questions after a moment, and I grin. I can tell she's getting a little nervous now, after having me ask her what she thinks of me.

"I was just wondering," I answer, but then frown. I can't just say that.

I stop paddling. We're at the other side of the lake now, and I'm pretty sure we've gone about halfway into our time. We'd probably have to start heading back soon.

"Actually, that's not entirely true…" I say, turning to Korra.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, well, I _did_ want to know what you thought of me, but there's also another reason. I - I want to get to know you better too, and I thought that it might help if I knew what you thought about me so that I could get an idea on how to -" I stop, taking a few seconds to see how I can word this without making it more awkward than it already is. "Get farther in our friendship, I guess."

Korra remains silent for a few seconds, although it feels much longer than that. The silence reverberates through my mind, pounding what remaining confidence I have into the ground as my heartbeat echoes loudly in my chest.

"Um…" Korra furrows her brows together in thought. "I - Are you saying that you want to become better friends? Is that it?" There's a curious look in her eyes, and I find myself inwardly groaning at the broad declaration I have just made. It's not that I don't want her to understand what I'm trying to do, but I think I'd feel bad if I didn't tell her _something_ about this plan me and Opal have hatched. It'd be like we're hiding a secret from Korra when the secret is her herself, in a way. And I think that would be a little dampening to anyone's mood, if they ever found out about it. That's why I'm trying to break it to her piece by piece, without her being shocked at the very end if I suddenly decided to tell her.

"Well, it's - it's more than that."

Korra stops pedaling and stares at me for a little, still unsure of what I mean.

"I - I…" I stop, taking a deep breath. The chilly night air has a minute but effective enough soothing quality on my troubled soul. "I like you, Korra." I want to add the words 'more than just as a friend', but can't seem to coax them out of my throat.

Instead, I find my hand sliding through her hair again, and I can feel the tips of her ears begin to burn. "It's because I like you that I want us to be closer."

Surprisingly Korra doesn't retract or shudder at my touch, but only smiles her completely adorable, lop-sided grin as a blush spreads across her cheeks once again. She reaches up a hand to play with the tips of her brown hair nervously. "Um... I - I like you too, Asami..."

I stare into Korra's ocean eyes, and I'm sure she's doing the same to mine. I can't get my hand out of her hair; it's just too soft and too enjoyable to have my fingers sift through. As much as I want to say something else, I can't find any words that come to mind, and we're somehow now stuck in a warm, tender limbo beneath the night sky.

God, I don't know what to do… I want to do something, say something, think something - but it's just too hard for my brain to run on full power right now. Korra's eyes and her sweet smile have me pinned, and then all of a sudden I think I might just do something crazy.

The only thought surging through my mind over and over again.

The only one that I can't stop from controlling what I do next, even if Korra might like it or not.

Slowly I begin inching forward, and so does Korra, our breaths becoming hot and short as we close the distance between us. Our lips meet in a gentle, cautious fashion, one that I would like to say is a bit hesitant; but then again, I'm not sure if she's fine with me doing this, so I don't really want to force myself onto her. I can tell from the lightness of her lips against mine that she's also nervous, and her hand tentatively finds it's way into my hair, brushing it away as she moves it behind my ear.

I don't know whether to go further or not, but I've already succumbed to the overpowering urge to kiss her, and I think that taking it a step further would be unwise.

I pull away, and Korra looks down, her cheeks a light shade of crimson.

"Uh, I - I hope that you didn't mind me doing that, I kind of couldn't control myself…" I say quickly but decisively. I don't want to come across as being too bashful either, since it was me in the first place who prompted the kiss.

"It's - It's alright..." Korra smiles shyly, and I think my heart is starting to melt.

"Hey!"

Both Korra and I turn around to look for the location of the shout, and we squint, seeing the shadowy form of another paddle boat gliding past us, maybe twenty yards or so away.

"Yo, get a room!" Shouts a guy from the other boat, and he waves his arm at us before turning his boat around and begins heading away.

"Hey -" Korra stands up quickly, about to let out a brave war cry of retaliation, but I stand up too and wrap an arm around her shoulder to get her to calm down.

"Korra," I laugh, and she looks at me, clearly disappointed that the guy who was shouting at us is running way (most likely would be with his tail between his legs, if Korra would have gotten to him). I bet if she really was angry enough, she could jump out of the boat and swim over to his in a minute or less and let him have it. But I'm not going to start giving her any ideas. "Relax, he's just being a bother - don't listen to him."

Korra's tense muscles relax under my hand, and I smile.

"Yeah, okay…" She turns to look at me, and her grimace is now replaced by another one of her crooked grins. "Haha, if I could have, I would have swam right over to his boat and taught him a lesson."

Dear god, I'm so glad Korra didn't actually do that. But it's scary to know that she was actually thinking about doing that…

I'm a bit sad that the cozy, romantic atmosphere I worked so hard to create was shattered by that guy who happened to see us make out, but I don't think it'd be possible to re-initiate it again right now... Would it? I don't know if it'd be smart either to continue the conversation we were having just a minute ago, and I can't think of anything else suave to say (not too sure if I was being suave in the first place anyways). "Maybe… Maybe we should start heading back?" I say to Korra halfheartedly, and she gives me a slow, small nod.

I don't know how exactly it happens next, but all of a sudden I find myself falling backwards (I think maybe I misplaced my foot?), and my heart stops as I feel gravity begin to pull me downward.

I see Korra reaching out for me, and I try to grab her hand, but only manage to lightly skim the skin of her open palm.

I'm submerged for a second in freezing lake water, and can hear Korra call out my name. I pop my head out of the water just in time to see Korra beginning to rapidly remove her jacket, about ready to jump in after me.

"Korra - no, I'm fine!" I say, treading the water surrounding me. I can swim, so even though it's extremely cold and I feel like I'm dying (I can over-exaggerate sometimes) I won't drown anytime soon. "Don't jump in, I don't want you to get wet too."

Obeying my orders Korra instead leans down, planting her body closer against the boat's floor, and reaches out to me. I grab her warm hands and she pulls me in, helping me get back into my seat.

"Oh my god Asami, are you okay? You're all wet! I wanted to go in after you cause I wasn't sure if you could swim or not -"

"Korra." I laugh, and Korra quiets down.

"What is it?"

"I'm fine; you don't have to worry so much, really," I tell her, chuckling. She's just too cute when she's worried. But of course I don't want to see her worried, so that's why I'm telling her that I'm fine. "I'm just kind of wet, is all."

"Don't worry Asami -" Korra says as she sets herself down into her seat beside me. "I'll get us back to the shore, okay? Just sit tight."

Korra's about to start paddling but stops abruptly, relaxing her upright body somewhat.

I wrap my arms around my now chilly torso and shiver. "What is it?"

Korra meets my eyes and frowns. "You - You're cold. I can't let you stay like that while I'm paddling you over." She cracks a small grin. "If you don't change out of those clothes soon, you're definitely going to turn into a human popsicle."

"I - I don't have any extra clothes to change into," I tell her bluntly. "It's not like I could change out of them even if I wanted to, you know," I add with a tinge of remorse to my now raspy voice. Cold water can have that effect on you.

"Still though," Korra points out, "that sweater you've got on is drenched. I don't think that's good if you're in it for too long, in this cold weather."

I sit quiet for a while. Korra's right; I might get sick if I leave this sweater on, so maybe I should take it off. At least I still have a tank top underneath, so it won't be like I'm shirtless or anything.

Korra begins taking off her jacket, the one that she was getting ready to ditch just a minute ago when I fell into the lake. "You can wear this."

"Thanks."

"Sure," Korra replies as she sets the jacket beside me and resets her feet on the pedals. I'm glad that Korra's brought both a jacket and a sweatshirt; at least she won't be freezing since she's decided to let me borrow one of them right now. "Let me know when you're ready, and then we can go back."

I carefully begin peeling off the sodden sweater from my clammy skin, but seem to be having a little more trouble than I thought. "Ugh… The sweater - it's _stuck_ …" My fingers are literally frozen, and I'm having a hard time telling them what to do and having them perform the task correctly.

"Uh -" I can hear Korra hesitating beside me. "Do - Do you want me to help?" she asks worriedly, and I try not to grin at her embarrassment. Maybe falling into the lake wasn't such a bad thing after all.

There's no taking back my ambitious reply. "If you don't mind."

Korra's fingers gently wrap themselves around the edges of bottom of the sweater and she pulls forward as I lean down, allowing the soaked piece of clothing to detach itself from my skin. I look down at my shaking torso; the tank top is pretty much soaked too, but I think it's better if I at least leave it on.

When I bring my gaze back up I realize Korra's head is turned away and she's trying not to blush. Her jacket is resting in her hand and she coughs once as she holds it out to me. "Uh… Here's - Here's this."

In the pale moonlight I can clearly tell that Korra's more than a bit nervous. There's no blaming her though; I mean, we just kissed a few moments ago, and now I'm over here partially stripping… Okay, maybe not stripping as much as I would like, but in this circumstance I think it would be best to leave the rest of my articles of clothing on.

"O-Oh yeah." I reach out for Korra's jacket and slip my arms through the sleeves, feeling instantly gratified by the heat it had gathered previously from Korra's warm body. "Thank you."

* * *

"Here, Asami," Korra reaches out to me again, helping me out of the boat.

We've managed (well, to be honest it was all Korra) to make it back to the shoreline, and the temperature has dropped more than a few degrees. I'm _so_ thankful that Korra was kind enough to lend me her jacket; if she wouldn't have, I think she was probably right in me turning into a human popsicle.

My numb fingers are wrapped by Korra's warm ones, and she winces, pulling me up. "God Asami, you're so cold!"

I laugh and smile, my teeth chattering a little. "I k-know… I-It's because I f-fell into the water, smartie."

Now it's Korra's turn to giggle, and she picks up my drenched sweater from the paddle boat's seat. It's literally a ball of soggy wetness (which sounds kind of gross), and I can't thank her enough for doing that. "I know, I'm just emphasizing the harshness of your frighteningly low body temperature," she says, letting go of my hand.

But of course I don't want her to do that. "Hey!" I speed up my walking pace and side next to her, grabbing her hand once again. She gives me a strange look. "You just told me I have a frighteningly low body temperature; it would be bad if I ended up getting frostbite because of you, you know," I smirk.

"A-Asami," Korra says as she raises an eyebrow. We keep walking. "You're not just using that as an excuse to hold my hand, are you?"

"Not at all," I shake my head. I know I _am_ using it as an excuse, but I'm just being sarcastic here, which I'm sure Korra can tell from by the sly tone in my voice.

There's a small area lit up at the entrance to the parking lot from a nearby lamppost, and we stop underneath it. I can feel Korra's hand timidly clutching my own. There's no one out here in the lot presently, and the comforting sounds of the water lapping up against the lake's shore provide a soothing lull to the quietness of it all. It's a shame though that at the moment I'm feeling a bit distressed, concerning the question I'm about to ask.

"Um, Korra… About what happened earlier…"

"It's alright Asami, you don't have to apologize."

I frown, not quite understanding Korra's quick reply.

"It was just a harmless kiss between friends, right?" Korra laughs it off with a chuckle, and I feel like gaping. "I - I know you probably didn't mean anything by it…"

I don't really know how to reply. Korra thinks I wasn't being serious, does she? She probably thinks that I was just playing around with her. Wait - I _did_ say that I couldn't control myself when I kissed her. Did that give her the wrong impression?

"U-Um, Korra, what I actually meant by the kiss was that…" I release her hand and turn to face her. "Well, u-um, I did want us to be closer, but not just as frie-"

A sudden buzzing noise penetrates the conversation.

"Oh crap, the parents are home," Korra says hastily as she glances at her phone's screen after pulling it out. "They're wondering where I am since we've got school again tomorrow."

"O-Oh…" Damn it - that was really unlucky timing.

Korra begins turning around and she starts heading back to her car.

"Korra, I -"

"You can keep my jacket and return it later, Asami," Korra calls out through the translucent darkness. I can hear the creaking of her car door as it opens. There's not much light out here, and I can barely see Korra's face as she looks over the top of her car back at me under the lamppost. "I'll wash your sweater for you too, so you don't have to worry about it."

I watch as Korra gets into her car and drives over to me. I walk up to the driver's window and give her a sad smile, which I'm not sure if she understands why I'm doing it or if I'm doing it at all. Maybe Opal was right. Maybe Korra doesn't understand yet what I'm trying to do, or how I feel.

Korra gives me a small smile, one that gives me the idea that maybe I'm not the only one who's confused. Or reluctant. Or despondent. Or a combination of all of those.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Asami."

I want to reach out and run my fingers through Korra's soft hair again, and tell her that no, I wasn't joking. No, that kiss really _did_ mean something.

But I can't.

I don't know how.

"Goodnight, Korra."

* * *

 **phew. *wipes forehead* glad to have gotten that out of the way. well, what do you guys think about what just happened? :o review to tell me what you think; i'd love to hear your thoughts, and getting insight is also really great too!**

 **thanks to everyone who has taken an interest in this story and faved/followed, and i'll see you next time. :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**today i'm in a pretty good mood (just got done with a math test, didn't have one of my classes, tomorrow's friday, so yeah, i'm feeling pretty fine!); i don't know if it had anything to do with how this chapter turned out, but i'll let you see what you think. ;)**

* * *

 **Stupid Opal**

"Korra, where have you been?"

My mom looks up to me from her position on the couch, her legs tucked comfortably underneath her. The lamp light is on beside her as she reads a book, which she seems to have been heavily submersed in until my arrival. Which was probably anxiously expected.

"I was just out, is all," I reply. I'm not about to say anything else.

"Okay. Make sure you don't stay out too late again next time, alright? You have school tomorrow."

I feel like sighing, but instead I trek up the stairs to my room. It's not like it's that late anyways. But still, I'm a bit glad that my parents called me home from the outing with Asami.

Naga's waiting for me at the foot of my bed, and her tail starts wagging happily as I throw my hoodie off and begin dressing for bed. "Hey, Naga girl," I say, and she gives me a cheery bark.

Honestly, I really have no idea what happened just under less than an hour ago. It's all so… hazy. Maybe I should think through this again to refresh my memory. I flop down on my bed stomach-side down, and bury my face in one of the pillows.

Okay, so Asami asked me to go to the lake with her. I got that.

Then we started talking while we were on the paddle boat, and then she began asking me questions and stuff…

And then we kissed.

Asami Sato and I _kissed_.

I can feel my face burning against the soft downy cloth covering the pillow, and I feel like I'm on fire.

Not like Hunger Games Katniss Everdeen 'Girl on Fire' or Alicia Keys "Girl on Fire", but more like "Oh my god, I feel so unworthy/embarrassed/I'm-not-good-enough" on fire. Yeah. It's a really thrown off balance kind of feeling.

Naga whines from the side of the bed and I moan.

Why me?

I'm not anyone.

Why would Asami kiss _me_?

Maybe I'm thinking about this too hard, but I just can't seem to find an explanation why. There _has_ been this one thought though, racing through my brain as I drove home alone. Maybe she's just trying to be friendly - and like she said before, it could have been something like a spur of the moment thing.

But then I have to acknowledge how I felt at that exact moment too. I - I couldn't help myself either. Her emerald, effervescent eyes were just pulling me in, and sooner than I knew it, my lips were on hers. And god, did it feel good… Nothing like I've felt in a long, long time. Now that I think of it, Asami actually makes me feel better than I ever have before. Everyday is fun and everyday is something I can look forward to because of her.

I roll over and sit up quickly.

Does this mean that I like Asami? I ask myself, turning my gaze to Naga.

Naga in turn probably understands the way I'm looking at her and places a paw on my thigh in what I would like to think is reassurance or giving her condolence (hey, don't judge - I like to think I can talk to animals sometimes), and I can imagine her shaking her head and saying "Poor Korra, you dear child… You are clearly more lost than an old lady with Alzheimer's wandering around at the the grocery store looking for a carton of milk".

"Thanks, Naga," I say more to myself than to my dog, and Naga tilts her head. "But really - do I like Asami like that? You know… Like, _like_ like her. As in I-think-you're-pretty-hot kind of like."

I frown. Look at me, talking to my dog right before I go to bed about my love life issues.

I get up from the bed and begin getting ready some of the things I'd need for the bathroom, like my toothbrush. As much as I'd like for it to happen, I don't think Naga is going to answer me anytime soon.

And as much I'd like for it to happen too, I don't think that Asami would ever really go out with a person like me.

* * *

"Hey Opal, you got a minute?" I say after we get out of class, pulling her by the elbow as I move her off to the side as everyone begins filing out.

"Uh, sure. What's up?" Opal smiles, and hugs her books a little tighter to her chest.

"Um, it's kind of important and I was hoping I could speak to you in private without having anyone else around - you know, like anyone else we know…"

"Like Asami?" Opal asks, and I point my finger at her.

"Yes! Exactly like Asami," I tell her as I relax my hand, and she gives me a curious stare. "No, it's not anything bad about her, it's just something that I don't really want for her to hear because it kinda has to do with her and s-stuff…"

"Okay then…" Opal takes a seat on the bench stationed outside the classroom door, and I silently do the same. "What's this you have to say about Asami?"

Wow, I feel now like this might not be a good idea… But I have to tell someone, and Opal's the only other person around that I can confide in, since Bolin isn't here. Heck no am I talking to Mako, because of course he wouldn't probably understand something like this. So you see, I've had to go to my last resort. Just don't tell Opal that, it might make her feel bad.

"Um… Asami and I kind of… Kind of…"

"Kind of what?"

"Well, uh, last night we went down to the lake together, and then we began talking and stuff, and then after that we, uh, we kinda k-kissed…" I look away, and I'm sure my ears are turning red at the tips.

"Ohmigod, really?!" Opal says a bit louder than I would like her to, and I squeeze my eyes shut, cringing. "Are you two going out now?!"

God, this girl is too ecstatic.

"Shhh, Opal -" I place my hands on her shoulders and try to calm her down, but her grin doesn't falter in the slightest. "We're not going out, but that's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"You want to go out with Asami, right? Gosh Korra, I'm so proud of you!" I don't even know how, but Opal manages to wrap her arm around my neck and pull me into one of those extremely hazardous wrestling choker grips/bear hugs, and I feel like I'm suddenly being strangled. Which I have no idea is her true intention or not. "Congrats, Korrie! Can I be one of the bridesmaids at your wedding?"

"-Gack- O-Opal, we're - we're not - getting married or anything -"

Opal's grip around my neck loosens, and I take a very needed breath. "You're not?"

"No," I say, and lift off her arms from around my respiratory tract.

"Dangit," Opal drops her hands and looks off to the side. "I was really looking forward to getting a nice dress and all that. Maybe even catch the bouquet."

I'm _so_ not enthralled by her hyperactive sense of jumping to conclusions that it's not even funny.

"Sorry. I'm listening. You kissed Asami. What's next?"

I take another deep breath and sigh. "I don't know why she kissed me, is why. I mean, I'm just me. I'm just Korra. And it's got me really confused. I mean, would you kiss me, Opal?" God, I don't even know why I'm saying this.

Opal replies with more oomph and sass than I would have expected. "Uh, heck to the no."

"Wow, thanks. It was more of a rhetorical question though."

"Gotcha. I apologize. Forget what I just said."

"What I'm trying to say is - do you think Asami likes me?" I add, more quietly and hesitantly than before.

"Uhhhhhhhh -" Opal has this really weird look on her face like she doesn't want to tell me something, and I quirk an eyebrow in response.

"Ope?"

"Hahaha, what are you talking about? Of course Asami likes you!" she says quickly. "Why would you say otherwise?"

"Because I'm not sure if she really does like me or not. Like I said before, I don't think she'd be interested in someone like me. Would you?" I say, gesturing my hand to her for a moment before sighing.

"Probably not."

"Again. Rhetorical question there, wasn't meant to be answered."

"Sorry, I can't tell if you're being serious or not, so I just answer things anyways," Opal chuckles, rubbing the back of her neck in what I hope is embarrassment. She'd better feel that minuscule amount of shame that someone like Opal at least has. God save her if she doesn't.

"I've gotta go," I tell Opal as I stand up and sling my backpack's strap over my shoulder. "See you at swim."

"Yeah, see you then, Korra!" I hear Opal shout across the distance (which isn't far at all), and I shake my head and grin, walking out the building's door.

* * *

Okay Korra, take a deep breath.

Hee-hoo, hee-hoo… No, that sounds too much like a Lamaze breathing exercise…

I know that I can't avoid Asami, and it's not that I don't want to be friends with her anymore. That would be the worst thing ever, and I would hate myself if that ever happened. No, I want to keep this friendship I've managed to form with Asami. She's - She's important to me.

So what I was thinking was that I've just gotta keep my cool and everything will be normal. Forget about the kiss, forget about the kiss. Forget. About. The. Kiss.

"Hey Korra."

Oh freaking crap balls, it's her. "U-Uh, hey Asami. Wassup?"

Asami walks over to me, as I'm sitting again at one of our campus' tables in front of the cafe. She looks okay to me, not weirded out or anything from last night. Which is kind of how I'm feeling right now (a little bit weirded out, but still functional. Mostly.).

Gotta stay cool. Keep your act together, Korra.

"Um…" Asami looks around at the table in front of her at the scattered books I have littered on the metal top. To be honest, it looks like some kind of academic wasteland. "Working on homework, I can see." She giggles and places a hand on her lips, and at the light sound of her laughter I can feel my heart lift.

"Haha, yeah. It seems like I always have so much of it, for some reason."

Asami walks over closer to me and gives me a wink. "Who knows? Maybe it's because you have the occasional tendency to procrastinate?"

"What?" I shoot back playfully, getting into that friendly, goofy vibe that I feel most comfortable in. It feels just like it did before last night, and it's almost like the kiss never happened.

It's a bit of a delayed reaction, but innerly, I want to chagrin myself. Why would I want to forget that kiss? Asami's gentle, soft, inviting lips on mine? That's not something that happens everyday, or to just anyone. Is there a reason why I was the one to experience something so amazing as that?

"You're really not going to bring that up, are you?" I challenge her, a grin spreading across my face.

"Maybe I am." There's a enjoyable spiciness to her tone of voice, and she reaches out, gently placing her index finger on my noise for a second. A single, electrifying second. Asami steps back, wearing that really devious grin of hers.

I'm not sure what to say, but I want to ask her something. I want things to be normal, the tension still lingering in the air to dissolve concerning what happened the previous night. But everything Asami does makes me think about it again and again, and I'm starting to get the idea that maybe she doesn't want me to forget. And maybe I shouldn't either.

Okay, I'm going to put myself out there saying this - but what the heck. "Hey, Asami," I lock eyes with the girl standing next to me, my heart steadily beating away in my chest. "Do you - Do you want to come watch me at swim practice today?" I know it's a stupid question, but who knows; maybe she'd be interested. I wave my hand at her after a moment. "You don't have to come if you don't want to, but I just thought that maybe you might like to watch us as we prepare for t-"

"I would love to, Korra," Asami replies before I can finish my sentence, and I smile the biggest smile I can at her.

"Great!" I try not to sound like I'm unbelievably happy, but I can't seem to hide the excitement in my voice when I answer her, making Asami giggle.

"I guess I'll see you later then?" Asami says, taking a few steps backward. "I have to do some studying at the library before I get to one of my other classes." She rolls her eyes and I laugh.

"Yeah, sure!" I wave. "Practice starts at 3:30, just so you know."

"Awesome. I'll make sure to be there then."

I watch Asami's retreating figure for a while, and realize I was holding my breath as I take a long gulp of cool air. Was I really that nervous? I mean, she did say yes (as if she would ever say no to me, haha). Heck, I feel so excited right now - Asami's coming to practice to watch me swim. I know it was something I just said off the top of my head, but in a way I was trying to lighten things up between the both of us; to make sure we were still good. No hard feelings or anything, right? Right. I'll just keep telling myself that. Everything is going to be fine as long as we keep going the way we are; Asami's not the kind of person I'd suspect to hold a grudge or anything.

And reflecting back on yesterday, it's not that I wouldn't want anything more with Asami - it's just that it doesn't seem possible. For me and her to be together; not practical at all. She deserves someone better.

Asami has vanished from my line of sight, and I force my gaze back down to the paperwork and textbooks before me. God, homework is so boring I feel like I'm getting nauseous just staring at the words flowing across the page.

There also happens to be the thought of Asami waiting for me on the bleachers as I swim in the freezing cold pool water, smiling that super sweet smile of hers at me. And that thought alone is what propels me through the rest of my homework, anxiousness and excitement pumping through my entire being as I can't wait to get to practice.

* * *

I'm just over here, doing my prior to swim practice stretches when I see Asami walk behind the gate surrounding the pool and take a seat on one of the higher rows of bleachers. Our eyes meet and she grins and gives me a wave, and I try not to blush.

I suddenly feel someone elbow me in the ribs and I look to my left to find an annoying Opal smirking at me.

"Looks like you've got a fan, huh?"

"Nah," I say, leaning down against the concrete as I reach my arms over to grab my foot and stretch my hamstring. "I just invited her to come watch us swim. It's not really like that, Ope."

"That's what you think" is what I think I hear coming from Opal suggestively, and I look up from my stretch, curious. "Did you say something?"

Opal simply shakes her head and grins, and I feel like strangling her like she did to me earlier today. "Nope, nothing at all."

I squint at her and she chuckles, obviously amused with my residing anger. I stand up and make a fist with my finger, sticking out both my pointer and pinky as I point to my eyes and then to her. "I'm watching you, Ope," I say in a cautioning tone, and she laughs.

Practice goes by at a reasonably fast rate, and sooner than I know it, we're getting out of the water again to head to the showers.

I lift myself up out of the pool, water dripping from my drenched body, and look back over my shoulder towards the bleachers where I hope Asami still is.

A smile appears on my face when I see that she has remained there, and is still waiting for me to get done. Well, don't you worry Asami, I'm almost there.

After the team huddle we all go our separate ways, and before I do anything else (like take a shower, for instance), I make my way over to Asami, who has now moved to be standing up next to the gate when she saw me approaching.

"You did good," she tells me, and I shrug.

"Thanks."

There's a bit of an awkward silence as I stand there dripping with Asami looking over my wet form, and I shiver as a fall breeze grazes my skin. I should probably go take that shower soon. You know, dethaw myself before this water solidifies into some kind of ice or something.

"Um, do you - I mean, _would you_ \- would you mind waiting for me?" I don't know the exact reason why I'm asking her this, but I've got this gut feeling that just wants to make up with Asami, one that's telling me to make things right after last night. Maybe this could be a chance.

"Sure, I don't mind at all." Asami gives me a small smile as she quirks her head, and I want to sigh at her captivating antics. For reals though; she's just way too nice sometimes. That's why it's also got me thinking that maybe that kiss last night was also another way of her showing her amiableness (big word, heh) off to a doofus like me.

But I want to know. I want to know if it was real or not, and it makes me feel like biting my nails (which I already do way too much already, my mom says) or pulling my hair (okay, maybe not that one so much now that I think about it). But in short, it's definitely got me curious.

I send a short wave Asami's way and turn around as I head back towards the showers in the girls' locker room.

A few of my teammates have already left, and the showers seem to be free, so I gather up a towel and my sports bag and set them aside next to the stall while I turn on the water to let it heat up. Looking around again I notice that there aren't actually any other peeps here in the showers; a few are in the bathroom stalls, but it looks like I've actually got the whole side of the showers to myself.

This is real nice.

I look around again and smirk. Heh, no one's really here - they must have all been in a rush to get home or something, I'm guessing. I wouldn't blame them; it is getting chillier everyday, it seems. I'd be rushing home too if I was was drenched in pool water and half naked. Which I kind of am (although I could be exaggerating on the half naked stuff).

I stick my hand under the running water and feel my skin start to tingle at the warmth; man, this is gonna be one nice shower. Especially since there's no one around to bug me about hurrying up, because I've got the shower all to myself.

I undo my wolf's tail and step into the steaming water. And it could be the fact that I've got the whole row of showers and extremely relaxing hot water all to myself plus the thought that Asami's waiting for me, but I can't stop from letting a tune escape my lips. "I can't take it take it take no more, never felt like felt like this before… C'mon get me get me on the floor, DJ what you what you waitin' for -"

Some wisdom for you kids out there: singing a song in the shower also really helps when you try to time yourself and conserve water, y'know?

I know, I'm weird. I've learned to accept the fact.

After I finish my solo I turn off the water and lean out of the shower, reaching for my towel I've placed against the wall.

Which somehow isn't there anymore.

Okay, maybe I misplaced it? No, I swear it was right there. I seriously just put my bag down right outside the shower with the towel right on top, and now they're gone.

A pair of familiar olive green eyes and a bob cut flashes through my brain and I groan.

Cue string of curse words.

Opal.

How do I know it was her? Well, let me just tell you she's done stuff like this before. Why the freaking heck would she do something as stupid as this? Oh wait, maybe it has to do with that other time when me and her were the last ones here and I turned off all the lights in the bathroom while she was still rinsing. I ran out with her clothes after that.

Friggin' crap, stupid Opal. Now she's getting me back, huh?

I look down at the floor. Nothing from my bag is even here. Not even a single Skittle from that pack that's been in my bag for weeks is here. I've still got my swimsuit on, thank god. Imagine if I would have taken that off too. I'd be the laughing stock of Opal (yeah, I know it's just one person, but you don't know Opal like I do), and I'm sure she'd never let me live it down.

I ball my fists tightly together and step out of the shower.

That girl can really piss me off, you know.

There's a small square of white that catches my eye, and my gaze follows the strange shape to the bathroom wall. It's a piece of paper. I walk over to it and ferociously rip the tape keeping it stuck there off the smooth tile wall.

Yep, it was definitely Ope.

 _\- This is for that time when you took my clothes while I was in the shower, you meanie! Just thought I'd get you back, hehehe. If you want your clothes, you're gonna have to…. Hmmm… What do I want you to do anyways? Ugh, let me think… Dang, I can't think of anything. Okay, well, you're not going to get your clothes back, so there. *sticks tongue out*_

 _Love, your dear friend Opal -_

Dear god, sometime I really want to strangle her neck… It looks like I'm not going to get my stuff back then. Thanks a lot, Ope…

I walk outside, barefoot and freezing and drenched (in clean water, at least) and soul heavily-laden, my bare feet making wet prints across the cement. I look around but don't see Opal anywhere; figures - she probs high-tailed it out of here before I could take her down. Which I would gladly do if I could.

And crap, my car keys and phone were in my bag too. I really feel like punching a wall now (or rather, Opal's face).

I curl my goose-bumpy arms around my sides and try to stop my teeth from chattering away, but it's sadly to no avail. Uggggggggghhhhhh… That freakin' Opal!

I have no choice but to walk back to the bleachers, and slowly I begin to make my way there (even though it's not even 100 feet away from the girls' locker room). As I get closer I see Asami stand up and give me a curious stare. She quirks an eyebrow, as if to ask "Is anything wrong?", which she then opens her mouth to ask the same question playing in my mind as I watch her face contort to fit the description of intrigued/eager-to-know-what-happened.

I pout and stop in front of her, and she grins in amusement. "Someone - more specifically a certain green-eyed, brown-haired dipstick that you and I both happen to be unfortunate friends with - stole my stuff," I say under my breath, refusing to meet eyes with Asami.

I don't have to look up to know she's trying to stifle a laugh, but I can't help myself from doing exactly that. "Ugh, Asami, don't laugh - it's not funny!"

"I - I'm sorry!" she covers her mouth, but there's still so much chuckling coming from her that I feel my face begin to turn red. "It's - It's just - kind of funny… Just - Just a little bit -"

" _Asami…_ " I say, squeezing my biceps tighter as the wind bites at my bare skin.

Asami puts down her arms and pulls on the edges of her green military jacket before taking a deep breath and exhaling. "Okay, sorry about that… It's just that -" Her cheeks puff out again and she looks at my grimacing face. It takes her a second to calm back down again. "It's just that you've got really bad luck for something like that to happen to you, Korra."

"Tell me about it," I say, plopping myself down on the bottom bleacher. "My phone and car keys were in my bag too, and now Ope's got them."

"Oooh…" Asami winces and I nod my head. "That's even worse."

There's a bit of clanking behind me as Asami's combat boots hit the metal steps, and then I feel her warm body beside me seconds later. She's not too close, but she's close enough for my breath to hitch.

"Do - Do you need someone to drive you home then?"

There's a bit of silence as I think the question over. I'll need someone to drive me _somewhere_ ; I can't stay here at school overnight, I don't even have any clothes or food or anything, and I'm sure there's all kinds of boogeymen hiding in the bushes…

"Uh, yeah, probably…" I run my hands up and down over my arms again. The cold is really starting to get to me. I know it's stupid question to ask, but I ask anyways. "You'll take me home, right?"

Asami cracks a small smile. "Of course I will." She stands up and takes off her jacket, handing it to me. "Here, you can take my jacket and return it later, if you'd like." I reach up to grab the oh-so-inviting length of green, and my thoughts flash back to last night when I remember saying almost the same exact thing to Asami.

Our eyes meet, and I can tell that she's thinking the same thing. She grins again. "You know, a small token of my gratitude from last night."

I nod my head slowly, but I know that even though I'm trying to act all cool I'm failing miserably. How do I know? God, my face is already heating up thinking about what happened the other day, and how Asami and I seem to have this kind of mental connection (which is pretty cool, I'll have to admit that) where we know what the other is thinking. Can - Can that mean anything?

"Right," is all I can say as I stand up and put on Asami's warm jacket.

As we walk to Asami's convertible I begin to tell her all of the crazy stories that have birthed from the dope's and my friendship (I'm wondering if I should still call it that?). Especially with her and Bo around, things can get pretty insane pretty fast. But you know, sometimes even though it can be stressful, it can also be pretty fun. Every once in a while.

The car ride home goes along in a similar manner, and even though I'm trying to push the thought of me and Asami acting casually to the back of my mind, I can't seem to make it work. I'm wondering if she's experiencing the same thing.

"Well, here you go," Asami says, pulling back on the shift and setting us in place against the sidewalk. I lean over the edge of the car door and look out to the left, where my house is. The lights are on, so my parents are home earlier than usual today.

I pull the jacket closer to my body and take a deep breath. "Thanks Asami."

"Sure, anytime Korra."

Is it just me, or is it almost like Asami is having trouble trying to figure out how she should act around me right now?

I don't attempt to remove my butt from the passenger seat and Asami turns to me after a few moments.

"Are you alright, Korra?"

I squish my eyebrows together and turn towards Asami. Dude, I feel like I'm asking sooo many stupid questions today. But I really have to know; this has been killing me all day. "Asami - are we - are we friends?"

Asami shakes her head, her beautiful locks of jet black hair swirling around her shoulders. "Korra, what would make you ask that? Of course we're friends!" Her smile fades slowly as she ends her sentence and looks down, and I frown.

"But -"

"But what?" I ask, and she looks up, meeting my eyes. I think I know what she might say, but I want to be sure.

"I - I -" Asami grips her hand harder around the steering wheel as she inhales, and quickly shuts her eyes for moment. "I would really like to be more than friends with you Korra, if that's fine," she says wearily; I can tell she's a little nervous by the shaky tone of her usually confident voice.

It's almost as if the whole world stopped, and I can only hear the loud drum-like pounding of my head, along with the tempered beat of my heart. In the cold, wearing this skin-tight swimsuit and Asami's jacket, it's hard to absorb such differentiating temperatures at the same time.

I don't know if it was that sandwich I had for lunch or what, but my stomach's turning and I feel my palms getting sweaty (is that even possible, when it's so cold like this?). I stuff my hands farther down the pockets of Asami's jacket. "D-Do you… Do you like me? _Like_ like me?" My voice is shaky too, but I know it's only natural.

It's that question that's been burning in my mind all day. And now I've finally asked, finally said it to her.

"I like you more than anyone I've ever met."

I want to pinch myself. This has to be a dream. Would Asami Sato really say that to someone like me? _Me_ , specifically? "How do I know this is real?" I say, turning towards her and meeting her eyes again.

A dangerous glint appears in Asami's green orbs, and I suddenly feel more timid than before. They contain a kind of gentle ferocity, a sparkling, friendly coerciveness that starts a similar fire inside of me.

"Would I do this if this wasn't real?"

And before I know it I'm captured in another one of Asami's kisses; this one more passionate and tender than before. I'm actually so taken by surprise by Asami's kiss that my knees would probably have buckled if we were standing up; but thankfully we're sitting down.

My mouth opens slightly and Asami's tongue slides right in, pressing against my own, and I feel like dying right then and there. It just feels so _so_ good... She's so _so_ close and she's so _so_ warm, and her lips are right up against mine that it's hard to believe that this isn't real.

It has to be.

Asami pulls away after a few moments, and she leans her forehead against my own, both of us breathing hard.

She turns her gorgeous eyes up to me and smiles, and I know that what Asami's just done has solidified the indistinctive nature of that feather-light kiss from last night with the more powerful, lingering effects of this one.

"Do you believe me now?"

"...Yeah," I breath out into the cool night air, and Asami brings her fingers up to touch the bottom of my chin and tilt my mouth towards hers again. "I think I believe you now."

* * *

 **i'm wondering if a certain someone might have done a certain something for a reason... *cough cough*hencethetitle*cough cough*. but that's something that's going to be explored in the next chapter, which i think will be an asami pov. ;P**

 **hopefully this chapter cleared things up a bit! i know a few of you were kind of confused, so i tried the best i could to explain korra's feelings and thoughts in this one. i thought it would be best to switch to a korra pov for her to be better understood, haha.**

 **originally i wasn't really planning for them to get together in this chapter, but it kinda just turned out that way, i guess *shrugs and looks up to first author's note at beginning of chapter*. still, i hoped you enjoyed it, and i would love to hear your thoughts in some reviews! :D**


	10. Chapter 10

**Faux Affair**

I take a deep breath and knock on the door.

There's a few seconds of silence before I hear the padding of feet across the wooden floor, coupled with the subtle sound of a familiar voice that makes my heart beat faster. I flip back my hair quickly, just in time before the door swings open wide and I'm face to face with Korra, a wide grin etching it's way across her face.

"Hey, Asami!" she says somewhat breathlessly. It looks like she might have been in a bit of a rush or something, but I don't find it necessary to ask why - it's probably just a case of more of that procrastinating she tends to do every now and then. No offense, Korra.

I giggle at Korra, who's now trying to keep Naga from knocking me to the ground to lick my face. "Hi Korra, hi Naga." I watch Korra for a few seconds as she tries to get Naga under control and smile at her when she looks up. "Are you ready to go?" I ask.

Korra looks over her shoulder, and I can hear voices in the kitchen. Her parents must still be here; it's the weekend. She rolls her eyes at something her mom says across to her, and I chuckle. "Yeah, whatever mom." Korra then looks to me again, and I can tell she's excited to get out of the house. "And yeah, I'm totally ready! Let's go, Asami!" Korra pushes past me gently, shutting the door behind her, and I try not to laugh.

"You're certainly anxious to get out of the house, aren't you?" I ask her as we walk down the steps together, and I carefully take the moment to interlace my fingers with her own.

Korra immediately gives my hand a gentle squeeze before letting go as we part ways, getting into either side of my convertible. "You'd be too if you were stuck in that house with my parents the whole morning, haha."

I turn the key in the ignition and the engine rumbles to life, and I look over to my left to see Korra run a hand over the top of her head, smoothing down the brown hair she's decided to wear down today (much to my liking - not that I asked her to wear it down or anything).

"I'm also pretty excited we're going to see Bolin and the others today - _plus_ ," she adds, smirking at me in a cute manner that I'd describe as Korra's version of seductive (which honestly is way more adorable than it is seductive), "I'd get to hang out with you."

I grin and find my cheeks heating up a bit, and luckily since we're driving down the road the early morning air is nice and crisp, so it's kind of refreshing to feel it whip against my face.

I hear Korra give an approving ' _mhm'_ and I turn to my left curiously. "What is it?" I raise an eyebrow and Korra nods.

"I see you got that really cool hair flow going on there, don't you?"

I shrug and frown, making sure to keep my eyes on the road as much as I can, although I'd really like to keep my eyes on Korra. "What the heck is a 'hair flow'?"

"It's the flow of your hair, silly. But yours is especially sexy for some reason."

Now this time I can't help but laugh out loud, and Korra joins in with a small chuckle. "Thanks - your 'hair flow'," I make sure to add air quotations when I say this using one hand, "is pretty attractive too, babe."

Oh my gosh; did I just say that? I guess I did.

Korra stifles a laugh. "Asami - did you just call me 'babe'?"

"So what if I did?" I give my hair a toss over my shoulder again nonchalantly. "You're my babe now, and I intend to make sure that you and everybody else are aware of that." I smirk at Korra, whose face is now kind of red.

"Y-Yeah… Right - _babe._ "

I giggle at Korra's slight discomfort to the word and turn my gaze to the oak trees lining the road, slowly thinning out as winter creeps closer and closer. "That's more like it."

* * *

Bolin and Opal are already seated when we get to the cafe we're meeting at, and the both of them immediately smile and wave at us when they see Korra and I approaching.

Opal looks especially ecstatic, and I know there's that thought in the back of her head that's the same in mine as we lock eyes for a brief second, sharing a mental exchange.

"Asami, Korra; glad you two could make it!" Opal calls out, and Korra and I wave to her.

"Hey guys, wassup?" Korra says, sliding into the booth first, me following right behind her. "It's been a few weeks, hasn't it, Bo?" Korra and Bolin share a fist-bump over the table and Opal and I watch.

"Yeah, I know, right?" Bolin laughs, waving his hand through the air. "It's crazy! Things have just been like, super busy and all that, so it felt like I haven't seen you in years." He leans over the table towards Korra and squints his eyes at her studiously. "It's like you've aged a few years, actually… You've got a few wrinkles there, right the-"

"Oh shut up," Korra gives Bolin a push back down into his seat and he plops down obediently, chuckling along the way. "I haven't gotten older, you dummy."

I meet eyes with Opal again and she smirks at me before winking. "Really? Because something about you has definitely changed," Opal inquires. "It's almost as if -" She places a hand to her mouth and taps her top lip in mock-thought. "Almost as if maybe you're, I don't know… Happier?"

Korra laughs and waves a hand, and I know she knows exactly what Opal's getting at but just doesn't want to relent to her friend's questioning. "Pfffft - what? Nah, I'm definitely the same. Happy Korra, that's me, all the time, 24/7 365 days a year. Never off the job. Not even on leap years, you know, with the extra day and all."

There's a brief silence while the three of us eye Korra suspiciously, watching Korra's nervous smile change into a grimace. " _Although…_ " she begins, narrowing her eyes at Opal across the table. " _You_ , you little butt - you stole my clothes the other day and made me have to go home wearing nothing but my swimsuit."

Opal shrugs dismissively/innocently and Bolin and I laugh. "Oh really? I'd forgotten about that."

I feel like Korra's literally trying to burn holes through Opal's skull with her eyes right now. "I could punch your memory back into place, if you'd like," Korra says, hitting a clenched fist against the flat of her palm.

"Now now Korra, let's not do that to Opal," I carefully lay my hand over Korra's fists, pulling them down to the table in a gesture of non-violence. "I think you should actually thank Opal, you know." I smirk, and Korra frowns at me.

"Why should I do that?"

"Because she's kinda the one who we -" I bob my head from side to side. "You know - made _this_ happen." I tell her, nodding from her to me. It's not that I don't want Bolin to know; I'm very open to the idea of letting him in on our little 'secret' right now, but I'd rather not say anything if Korra's not fine with it yet.

Korra's eyes open wider, her jaw dropping as she quickly switches from Opal's devilish smirk to my shining eyes. "Are you - are you serious?" she chokes out, and I chuckle.

"I am."

"So was it planned or something?"

I wink at Korra and she blushes. "Maybe."

"Um, I'd hate to intrude on your little conversation here, but I'm kind of lost," Bolin says, raising his hand politely, and Opal and I laugh. Korra only frowns in anger, and even though she's disappointed that Opal and I had kind of (alright, we totally planned it - but it was mostly Opal's idea, I'll have you know. I think she also insisted on it because she mentioned something about getting back at Korra for something she did.) arranged for the disappearance of Korra's bag, her scrunched up face looks so entirely cute that I just have to lean over and give her a quick peck on the cheek.

Korra immediately freezes, and I can hear Bolin gasp really loudly from across the table.

"Oh my god - don't tell me -" he breathes out excitedly, both of his hands covering his open mouth. "You two are together, aren't you? Oh my god, this is so hot - I can't believe my friend is dating _the_ Asami Sato! Jesus, I think my heart is going to pound right out of my chest, I'm just so happy for the both of you and love is such a wonderful thing-"

"Bolin - Bolin!" Korra rapidly rises out of her seat to cover Bolin's mouth with her hands and I giggle, Bolin looking utterly confused at Korra's reaction. "Calm down, Bo, okay?" she slowly sinks back down into her seat as Bolin nods.

"Yeah, I know, I'm sorry, it's just that I'm so happy for the both of you having finally found each other after so long and all that-"

"Seriously?" Korra raises an eyebrow at Bolin. "We haven't known each other for that long, Bo."

"Well, it's the kind of 'finally' after that short while that you've known each other, you know? The kind where you were supposed to be together anyways but didn't realize it until recently."

"You mean like soul mates, right Bo?" Opal chimes in, and Bolin nods enthusiastically.

"Mhm! Totally Opal. It's exactly like that! Fate, and destiny, and all that, you know?" Bolin lets out a dreamy sigh and continues. "It's so romantic that it's giving me that gushy-mushy feeling…"

"Uh, Bo, don't go getting all touchy with me right now, alrighty? We're in the middle of a cafe. There's a little kid over there, and we don't want to mentally scar him for life, do we?"

"Aw, come on, Opal!"

"Bolin - no, don't do that, no no no -"

I'm not exactly sure what Opal or Bolin says next because I've caved to the idea of Korra and I being "meant" for each other. It's like I said before; Korra's never made me feel so in love (or like, if that's what you'd like to call it) with someone before, until now. Maybe that _does_ mean something; like we _were_ meant for each other. And I know that Korra feels something too; although it took her a little bit to realize it (along with some help from Opal) to see what I was trying to achieve with her. I also think that we'll be really great together - if we were such good friends when we were only in the "friend zone", I get the feeling that we can become that much closer as a couple, romantically.

"Right, Asami?" Korra gives me a small shove with the end of her elbow, and I pop out of my reverie.

"U-Uh, what did you say? Sorry I wasn't listening," I laugh embarrassedly, and Korra sighs exasperatedly.

"Gosh Asami, you've got to start paying more attention," Korra shakes her head and makes a few tsk noises, and I bit my lip down, trying not to lean in again and kiss her. "I was just saying that we haven't really officially come out yet about our relationship or anything."

I nod my head vigorously, understanding what Korra's getting at. "Oh yeah," I say, turning my gaze back to the other two sitting across from us. "We're still dating though, aren't we?" I grin back at Korra, her hand supporting her chin as she rests her elbow on the table.

"U-Um, y-yeah… I think so..." Korra mumbles quietly, her eyes falling down to the table, where she picks up her spoon and begins dragging it across the wood top.

"Aw, come on, Korra," I say, leaning into the girl next to me. I reach up my hand to caress her face as I turn her toward me, and she looks over at Bolin and Opal in what I'm sure is heavy embarrassment. But hey, I'm her girlfriend now, so getting to embarrass her in public is one of the special privileges that only I get. Wink wink. "Be a bit more enthusiastic, 'kay, babe?"

"I - Bu-" Korra babbles, and I quickly shut her up by pressing a kiss to lips.

"Oh my god, Ope, this is so juicy!"

"I know, right?"

I tear myself away after a few seconds, grinning from ear to ear. I look at Korra, and her eyes, once closed (after she's fallen prey to my kiss) open quickly to reveal a startling blue.

"A-Asami, I don't know if we should really be doing this ri-"

"Oh shush," I tell her and lean in again, a twin chorus of cooing spurring me on.

"Hey guys; sorry I'm late."

I halt myself, just mere inches away from touching my lips to Korra's again. There's a voice that I've heard somewhere before, and I get the feeling that we're being joined by someone else.

Across the table Bolin jumps up in his seat and gives the person a hug. "Awww, Mako, I've missed you so much, dear brother!"

Mako cringes as Bolin clings violently onto him, and I pull back from Korra, watching the two interact. "U-Uh, Bo, can you please get off me? People might get the wrong idea."

"And what if they do? I don't care, I've missed you so much, bro!"

"Bo - seriously - it's only been a few days since I've last seen you."

Bolin only squeezes Mako tighter. "All the more reason!"

I think it takes Mako a moment to register my presence (although he's standing right next to me), and he looks down at me, furrowing his strange eyebrows. "A-Asami? You're here too?"

"Of course she is!" Opal smiles, and I silently thank her for answering him for me. "Asami's one of us now, right Korra?"

Korra nods in agreement. "Yep - Asami's a part of the crew, and that's final," she crosses her arms and smirks at Mako, who has finally been released by Bolin.

Mako raises his arms in surrender. "Hey, I'm not saying anything - I think it's great that you're here, actually," Mako smiles at me and slides in beside Bolin, taking a place across from me and Korra. "It's actually pretty cool, because now I'll get to spend some time with you outside of work instead of tearing up speeding tickets and having to put up with my boss."

"Um, right." I look over at Korra with a bemused expression. It sounds like Mako's starting to hit on me. Thinking I might be able to turn around Mako's statement to make it beneficial (or at least more welcome) to me, I decide to add some of my own input. "Yeah, I'm really looking forward to spending more time with all of you too."

Mako gives me a small grin and a quick nod of the head. "Maybe you'd like to do something sometime, if you're free?"

"Dude," Bolin butts in, and I silently thank him as well. Bolin's eyebrows knit together and his eyes quickly dart from me to Korra and then back to Mako. "Asami's dating someone already."

My eyes meet Mako's embarrassed amber ones, and he reaches up to rub the back of his neck. "Oh, geez… Sorry about that, I didn't know."

"Don't worry, it happens all time," I give him a polite smile. "I've gotten used to it," I chuckle. I feel a clench against my side and realize it's Korra's fist, and my smile widens although the others don't have the slightest idea why I might be smiling other than me being polite. I think Korra's actually jealous - wow, this is so cute.

Korra's body tenses and she leans into me, closing some of the distance between her and Mako. "You'd better believe it happens to her all the time," she says, splaying out a hand and Mako gives her a curious look. "And this time her relationship is really serious, so there's probably no chance that you're going to get with her." Korra crosses her arms. "Sorry about that, Mako."

I turn to Korra and rest my chin on my hand. "The relationship is really serious, huh?"

Korra backs away slightly, but refuses to back down all the way as my gaze pierces hers. "Y-Yes, it's super serious."

"That's good to hear, because I don't think I'm going to be dating anyone else for a while - if at all after them," I say, sending a provocative wink her way.

Korra's head spins to see Opal and Bolin giggling at us, and Mako only watches our conversation in awkward silence, terribly confused (at least I think he is, since he has no idea we're actually talking about ourselves).

"As a matter of fact," Opal raises a finger, and the gesture catches my attention. "Asami and her significant other are going on a date tomorrow night." She gives Bolin a shove in the ribs, one that isn't too noticeable from Mako's standpoint (or sitpoint, if that's even a thing). "Right, Bolin? It's supposed to be a really romantic one too."

Bolin catches on and nods his head strenuously. "Oh yeah - totally! Asami's been telling us that it's supposed to be a really nice one; you know, a candlelight dinner with a really foreign waiter who has a cool mustache and a bushel of red roses and all of that -"

Opal sighs, and I feel like praising the two of them. "Man, Asami must be sooooo lucky to have someone who loves her enough to do all of that…" she says, and I know Korra wants to lean over the table and strangle Opal's neck (while I, on the other hand, want to give Opal the biggest hug ever). "I'm sure it'll be a lovely dinner too."

"Yeah, I'm really excited for it," I smile mischievously, matching the similar grins on Opal's and Bolin's faces. "Having someone who loves you so much and would do something as romantic as that is something that I really find attractive."

Mako coughs from across the table and the four of us look over at him. "I - I can be pretty romantic too, you know…" he mumbles.

Korra scoffs at Mako's statement. "I don't think that's entirely true," she says, and Mako puts on a frown.

"Well-"

Before Mako can say anything else Opal butts in again, followed by Bolin's escalating voice. "This date Asami's going on is supposed to be one she'll always remember - at least that what she's told me." Opal gives me a wink.

"Very romantic indeed," Bolin adds.

I just nod my head in agreement and let the smile on my face grow wider. "Whatever they have planned for me tomorrow I'll gladly accept." I don't want to make it too hard on Korra, although I really would appreciate most of the things Opal and Bolin have brought up.

"Don't worry, Asami," Bolin gives my hand on the table a gentle pat with his own. "We'll make sure your date lives up to their word."

I can feel Korra bristle at Bolin's nerve and she's about to say something when Mako speaks up again.

"Do you guys know this person Asami's dating?" he says to Bolin with a raised eyebrow. I know I can't see what Mako is thinking, but I'm guessing he's grown quite curious as to who exactly this super-romantic person is. I wonder if we should tell him? Nah, he's good.

"Well, of course we do," Opal leans over Bolin to grin at Mako devilishly. "They go to our school. Well, at least I and Korra know them. Right, Korra?"

"Um, yeah…"

I want to laugh out loud right there in the booth but I force myself to keep it inside. The looks on both her's and Mako's faces are priceless, and I'm sure Opal and Bolin feel the same way as I do right now.

Mako, still very confused, shrugs and picks up one of the menus on the table, as if to say he has no idea what's going on and has decided to just stay out of it. "I'm just going to order my breakfast, since it looks like you guys have obviously had enough time to look at the menu."

"What are you talking about?" Bolin retracts in shock, placing a hand over his chest. "We've had so much fun talking here since you've came we haven't had the chance to look at the menu yet either!"

Mako only rolls his eyes. "Right. I'm having _so_ much fun right now too it's crazy."

"Oh stop being such a party pooper!" Opal says, picking up one of the menus as well. "Let's just enjoy ourselves right now, together, shall we?" She smiles and snuggles closer into Bolin's side, and he giggles.

Korra and I pick up the remaining menus and open them as well, and no sooner than do I have the folded booklet wide out in front of me Korra gives me a small shove with her elbow.

"Pstt - hey, Asami!"

"What is it, Korra?" I chuckle. I know exactly what she's going to talk to me about, but I just ask the question anyways.

"Are we really going on a date tomorrow? And I have to plan it? And get you roses and everything? And find a place with a waiter who has a nice mustache?" she whispers incredulously, eyes wide.

"Hmm…" I scooch my menu over closer to her's and duck my head down lower. "Well, your friends did say that this was supposed to be a very special date - I hope that my date has something similar planned," I tell her with a wink. Haha, I think I'm winking a lot at her today.

Korra takes a long gulp, and I can see a blush creeping it's way onto her cheeks.

I lean in closer to Korra, our lips mere centimeters away from each other once again. "You will, won't you?" I whisper, breath hot against her shivering skin. The sensation of kissing Korra is something that I've learned to relish; especially with the reactions I get from her. She's just so cute; being all shy and everything that I can't help but want to see that side of her more often.

"I'm sure your friends would help you out too if you needed some advice," I'm about to close the distance between us again when I hear Opal call Korra from her side of the table. Korra's slightly closed eyes open up, and she pulls back, embarrassed.

"Hey Korra, what are you getting? I'm having some trouble trying to decide what I want."

I want to laugh when Korra's head slowly bobs to the surface over the edge of her menu, and her eyes dart around back and forth before landing on Opal's downcast head (she's still engrossed with looking at the menu, as is everyone else).

"Uhhh…" Korra looks over at me and I smirk. "Maybe a breakfast sandwich?"

"Ah," Opal replies, nodding but still not making eye contact with Korra. "That does sound pretty good."

After answering Opal Korra brings her head back down and cracks that beautiful smile of hers at me, and I giggle. "That was kinda awkward," she whispers, laughing slightly.

"It kind of was," I say but don't hesitate to continue where we left off. "But I still want to finish what we started, before the waiter comes or Opal asks you something else."

"U-Um, okay," Korra brings her head down lower and I lean in again, placing a light kiss to her lips. Finally. Phew, who knew that wanting to kiss someone just one time would be so hard.

I hear giggling coming from across the table and take a quick peep over my menu, seeing two people sitting side by side shaking with silent laughter.

Korra sends a quick kick their way.

"Ow!"

"Dude, Bolin, stop being a kid."

"I'm not, Mako, I'm not! It's just that-"

"Don't want to hear it, Bo."

Bolin sighs and Korra and I try stifling our laughter behind the menus shielding our faces.

"So it's settled then?" I ask her, my voice still hushed to a tone only she can hear. "We're having a date tomorrow - no ifs, ands, or buts, okay?"

Korra smiles over at me and shrugs. "I'll do what I can, Miss Sato. We can definitely have a date, if you'd like."

"I'd love to."

"Okay then, what time do you want me to pick you up?"

"How about 7 o'clock?"

"Sounds perfect."

* * *

 **i know this chapter was kinda short... and it was mostly dialogue too, haha. *rubs the back of her neck nervously* but hey, korra and asami are supposed to have a hot date sometime soon, so i guess that might be good? xD**

 **anyways, i'd just really like to say thank you to all of you who have taken an interest in the story - i hope you're enjoying it! if you'd like, leave a review - i really love reading your guys' reactions, haha... but if not, then i guess i'll see you next time. thanks for reading! :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**sorry i'm uploading this a little later than what was probs expected; things have just been kinda busy lately. it's the same old story though, haha: work, school, work, school... blegh. let's just get on with the next part of the story, shall we? hot date night, here we go! :D**

* * *

 **Hot Date**

Oh my god, this thing is so tight…

I pull a little on the collar wrapped snugly around my neck, a small tie nestled at the base of my throat making the lump in it feel more annoying than it already is. I really have no idea why Opal had me wear this. I mean, I didn't know what to wear, and since she's obviously been on more than a few dates with Bo recently, I thought it might be wise to ask her for some advice in how to dress. Maybe that wasn't such a good choice after all.

Dang… Why do I always realize that asking Opal for advice is a bad idea only _after_ I go to her? It's become a bad habit, I think.

I stop at the gated entrance of the Sato Estate, the gravel on the drive crunching beneath the tires of my despicable-looking car along with it's despicable looking owner.

There's some kind of little screen-thingy, and I'm guessing that's the thing where I go up to it and ask if I can come in. I think.

I reach out of the car window and press the first button I see, and the screen flickers to life, Asami's smiling face staring back at me.

"U-uh, hey," I stutter out, and Asami giggles.

"Hey. Let me open the gate for you, alright? Wait a few seconds, and then you can pull into the driveway." Asami's about to turn away when she swings back in front of the camera and chuckles. "Oh - and if there's any security guards out there right now, don't let them scare you - just tell them I let you in, okay?"

"..." The screen goes black before I can utter back a reply, but just like Asami said, the gate slides open and I cautiously drive through, scanning the perimeter for any men with tasers and handguns.

I drive on farther down the road, luckily not seeing any scary-looking men for the remainder of the journey. Maybe they're all having dinner together right now, somewhere, at some bar with each other - you know, just hanging out and being chill. Definitely not going on some hot date with an equally hot girlfriend who you get totally nervous around all the time, and have actually never went on a date with someone before and you end up having to take her somewhere and are secretly hoping that she's going to like it and love you and everything else - so yep, they totally don't have anything to worry about - yep, no pressure at all.

God, I really need to calm down. Here we go again, implementing Lamaze breathing exercises...

When I get to the front I pull up next to Asami's black convertible and get out of my car. After a few steps I turn back rapidly on my heels, remembering I've got to bring those roses that Opal (and quite forcefully, I might add) shoved into my arms before I left her house. With the roses in hand, I begin walking back in a nonchalant manner to the front of the mansion. Really, I've gotta say Asami has a totally sweet place - it's super awesome in all aspects. Take those windows for example; gotta love those.

I knock shyly on the front door and wait a moment, tapping my hands against my thighs. God, I'm so nervous, but I know I've said that before. Running a hand through my hair that I've decided to leave down again (Asami says it looks cute, so I thought that maybe it might be nice, haha) I take a deep breath, and then the door opens, and my mouth drops.

I take in Asami's full figure - her long slender legs and the tight red dress that goes down mid-thigh, the bare shoulders she has slightly covered by a black cardigan, and the soft hair slowly cascading down her beautifully sculpted shoulders. And then there's her face. Her absolutely beautiful face.

I'm sure _my_ face is probably beet-red right now. "W-Wow…" I shake my head, and it's almost like I've forgotten how to breath. Or talk. "You look… You look g-great, Asami."

I'm silent for a moment, my eyes still glued to Asami before I realize that I'm being really awkward. I extend the roses in front of me. "H-Here, these are for you."

Asami smiles at me, her eyes sparkling. The way she looks at me makes my heart pound harder in my chest, and the way she looks in general has got me speechless (aside from the fragment of sentences I was able to string together a few moments ago).

Asami reaches out to take the roses from me. "Aw, thanks Korra… You're so sweet. And you look really good too." Asami smirks at me, and I pull at the collar against my throat again. "You're wearing a pantsuit. Yeah, I've got to hand it to you - you can _definitely_ pull the look off," she says with a wink as she brushes past me, and I can only follow her with my eyes as she begins down the steps.

I shake my head, trying to get my mind back to reality. "Y-You think so? I kinda thought it was a bit…" I try hustling over to Asami's side of the car as fast as I can without tripping; it's kinda hard running in high heels, that's for sure. And I don't even wear high heels normally, so I'll have to have a talk to Opal about this when I see her next. "Kinda…" I shrug and laugh. "... _Gay?_ " I pause and frown. No, that didn't really sound that good. "I mean, I guess I kinda - You know… It's, well…"

Asami nods her head in disagreement as I open the car door for her, and she slides in. "No. I actually think it's pretty hot."

I grin and shut the door, literally float over to the other side of the car, and get into the driver's seat. So she digs pantsuits? Yeah, totally nailed it, Opal. "Pshh, yeah, well, I kinda wanted to wear one of these puppies anyways. You know, just to try it out and see how I liked it," I say over to Asami, who knows I'm totally lying. I'm so bad at lying it's sad.

"Right." Asami laughs, and I feel my heart lift considerably. "So," she says, leaning closer to me and tracing a finger along the front of my button-down. G-Geez, please don't do that, Asami… You're making me more nervous than I already am…

"Where are we headed tonight, Korra?"

I turn the key in the ignition and try to ignore the heat spreading across my cheeks. "You'll see."

* * *

"Here we are," I say, pulling up into one of the empty parking spaces of the restaurant. "You're fine with Italian, right?"

"I'm fine with anything as long as I'm with you."

I swear, I don't know how Asami manages to say the things that get me going the most. That right there was a shot to the heart, I tell you. I'm mentally clutching my already-tightened chest right now.

"I-I'm glad to hear that." I quickly open the car door and scamper out my side and over to Asami's, so I can open hers as well. I know that she probably knows that she can get under my skin pretty easily, but I still feel a bit uncomfortable when I get nervous around her… It's not a bad kind of nervous, of course. It's the more fluttery feeling, disoriented kind of nervousness. And I mean that in the nicest way possible.

"Thanks a lot."

"No problem."

I wait by the car door, which I've recently shut, and Asami steps out, one long, completely perfect leg after another making it's way into my line of sight.

"I hope you're not staring at me, Korra," Asami smirks, and I feel like slapping myself. Come on Korra, this is only the first real date! Don't be a douche!

"I-I didn't mean to, i-it's just that you're so…" _Stunning,_ is what I want to say.

Asami shuts the door behind herself and laughs, walking closer to me and grabbing my arm. She pulls me to her chest for a short moment. "Come on Korra, you know I'm just playing with you! Of course I don't mind you staring."

She begins leading me to the entrance, and I can't help but feel a bit awkward because I know that I'm supposed to be the one leading her. It's just that I'm so air-headed when she's around that I kinda can't make the right decisions. Yep, I'm gonna have to get a grip on myself.

"It's why I wore this outfit, silly."

I gulp and slip my hands into the pockets of my suit, trying not to focus on the warm sensation of the hands around my arm. "U-Uh, well, how about we go and enjoy some nice food together?" I say, swiftly changing the subject. "Not that you're not nice to talk about, because you look completely amazing and that dress of yours is really hot, but it's just that I'm kinda having a hard time trying to focus on anything else but you, so that's why I'm trying to think about food…"

Oh god, I feel like slapping myself in the face again. What is wrong with me? I didn't just say that out loud, did I? Crap, I think I did…

"Korra." Asami smiles, tugging my elbow again and my heart stops. We climb the last step to the entrance and she places a hand on the door's metal handle. "Relax, alright?"

I take a deep breath and nod. "A-Alright. I'll try."

"Good. Now let's go in there and enjoy ourselves some, okay?"

Almost as immediately as Asami pushes the door open we're greeted by a man from behind a wooden podium, his dark hair slicked back and a small curl hanging down over his forehead.

"Welcome, ladies!" he says, and Asami and I walk over to him. "How are you doing tonight?"

"Fine, thank you," Asami replies and squeezes my arm tighter.

I squint at the guy, and he chuckles nervously. "Bo, is that you?"

The guy laughs and waves his arms quickly. "Uh, no - what are you talking about? Why would Bolin work at a nice restaurant like this? Plus, I can't be Bolin -" he says, and Asami and I give him blank stares.

It's totally Bo.

"Whoever this Bolin is, I bet he doesn't have one of these beast mustaches, does he?" Bolin says pointing to the totally fake facial hair because it's literally a perfect mustache resting on his upper lip that he couldn't have grown out overnight.

I'm about to make a comeback when Asami interjects, raising a finger. "You're right - Bolin doesn't have a mustache, that's for sure. He's not manly enough for one."

Bolin frowns as his eyebrows furrow together, and I know he wants to say something else but can't because we obviously already know it's him. Bolin sighs as he drops the facade for a moment, but then he looks back up to me and Asami with a renewed fervor. "Alright alright… It's me. But I totally am man enough, Asami!" Bolin picks up a small white towel at the corner of the podium, gives it a whip through the air, and lays it over his arm. He then picks up a couple of menus and gestures in a sweeping motion before us. "Anywho… Would you two like me to lead you to a table?"

"Please do," I try stifling back some laughter I've been attempting to hold in for the past two minutes.

"Here you are."

Bolin's decided to lead us outside after Asami said that she wanted to eat outdoors. We're in a nice patio at the rear of the restaurant, and there aren't very many people eating out here. My guess is most of them wanted to be inside, but I'm not about to argue with Asami about where she wants to eat. Outside is definitely fine with me - it's always nice to get some fresh air. And especially since it's so warm too… Or maybe it's just me.

I tug again at the tight collar against my neck.

Chill Korra, just chill. Everything's gonna be fine.

"Let me just light this for you…" Bolin leans over the table and extends a lighter toward the candle sitting in the middle as Asami and I take a seat. Soon enough there's a glowing warmth nestled in the center of our presence, and it gives everything a very romantic feel. Wow, I'm really starting to get the idea that this is the real deal - a candlelight dinner and everything…

Bolin brings up the lighter to his lips like it's a gun and raises an eyebrow at us as we watch him curiously. "There we go." He smirks and blows out the flame in one small breath, but he quickly yelps when he realizes that smoke is filling his nose.

The doofus' fake mustache falls to the table, smoke wafting off of the disguise and Asami and I burst out laughing.

"Oh crap!" Bolin flicks the mutilated piece of fake hair off of the table with one of the menus and stomps on it. "That thing cost me, like, five freaking bucks! And I even had to borrow those from Mako… Dammit…" He shakes his head, and Asami and I look up at him with wide, expecting eyes.

"Well, whaddya know?" I grin, fixing Bolin with my stare. "Whassup, Bolin?"

My childhood friend huffs, stomping his foot one last time against the floor. "Don't talk to me right now…" He turns on his heels and begins stalking off. "Can't you see I'm mourning the death of my totally impenetrable disguise? Geez Korra, have a heart…" Before he walks back into the restaurant he pops his head around the door frame. "Your waiter will be with you in a moment, alright?"

I roll my eyes and turn my gaze back to Asami, who giggles in return. "Typical Bolin," I shrug.

"Who knew he works here?" Asami said, shrugging as well as she picks up one of the menus.

"Honestly, I don't think he does…" I say, shaking my head slowly. "It beats me how he's managed to get himself into this kind of circumstance."

Asami leans forward and places a hand under her chin. Her eyes are gentle and the candle light makes them look a soft green, like a summer meadow full of velvety grass. "Maybe it could be because of a certain friend?" she asks, and I smile.

"Possibly," I say, picking up my own menu.

I hear someone cough from behind me, and my eyes widen in realization.

"Alright - are you ladies ready to order?"

Oh god. You've got to be kidding me.

"Opal? You're here too?" I moan and place a hand over my face, dragging it downwards. "Dear lord kill me now…" I say, which only makes Asami laugh harder.

" _Shhhhh!_ " Opal hisses at me, placing a finger over her lips as she glares down at me. "You're going to blow my cover, Korra!"

"Blow your cover from who?"

"That's top secret."

"No it isn't, you're not even wearing a disguise."

"Hellooo~," she motions a hand over her black aproned figure. "Girl who had to run out of the mall dressed like Asami Sato? I consider myself a master of disguise now, thanks to you." Opal clears her throat again. "So - what would you two like to start off with tonight?"

I can't help but raise another question. "How did you and Bo manage to infiltrate such a nice Italian restaurant anyways? I'm sure the owners don't deserve this kind of punishment."

" _You_ -" Opal whips out her pen and points it directly in between my eyes. "You keep quiet."

"NOW." She gives her shoulders a roll and averts her extremely judgmental olive eyes from me, giving me a small whack on the head with her notebook before making eye contact with Asami, who of course has been behaving like the angel she is through all of this. "What would you like tonight, miss?"

"I think I'd like to have the Chicken Marsala, please," Asami hands over her menu to Opal, and I rapidly begin to scan the contents of the booklet for something I might like to order.

"Alright." Opal turns to me, sighing exasperatedly. "And what would _you_ like, annoying customer?"

I just smirk at Opal and close my menu, slapping it to her chest and she steps back a little, free hand over the thin booklet. "Your lasagna please."

"Fine…" Opal mumbles and scribbles our orders in her booklet before sticking it back into a pocket on her apron. "Anything to drink?"

I'm about to ask for water when Opal whips out a bottle of wine from behind her back.

Like, what the heck? That _definitely_ wasn't there a few seconds ago, I don't think. "What the junk, Opal? Where'd that come from?"

Opal winks slyly at Asami and I, who have our mouths gaping open wide in astonishment.

"Can I interest you in a nice bottle of _pinot grigio_?" She waves the bottle around a little, the grin on her face growing wider by the second.

"Opal, we're underage - we can't drink, you know that."

"Aw, come on Korra, be a teenager for once! Or maybe I mean more of an adult? Who cares..." Opal says, bringing in our glasses closer to her and popping off the cork on the bottle. "This, I hear, is supposed to be _really_ good…" she chuckles, and I try to reach out and stop her, but I don't want to make a scene in front of the few other people out here.

"Thank you very much," Asami smiles up at Opal once she's finished pouring her glass, and I look over at her, shocked.

"Asami… You're fine with it?"

Asami shrugs dismissively. "I've drank before at parties and things my dad hosts for work - personally, I think wine isn't really as bad as beer is." She takes a sip from her glass and smiles at me. "It's more refined, I like to say."

Okay then… So, am I like, the only one here who hasn't drank before? Because judging from Opal's disconcerment on this matter she seems pretty chillaxed about it…

"I've taken you've drank before, Ope," I state flatly, watching Opal fill my glass.

"That's for me to know and for you to find out."

"Thanks. That makes me feel so much better about this whole thing."

"Sure, anytime, Korra."

Finished filling our glasses, Opal leaves the bottle on the table. "Alrighty, I'll be off now. And don't worry, no one's going to ask you about the bottle because I have it _all_ taken care of." She winks again, and slowly backs away.

"That's what I'm afraid of," I say under my breath, and she quirks an eyebrow.

"Would you like to voice that opinion again, missy?"

"No, not at all." I shake my head and Opal disappears back inside, leaving me and Asami alone again.

"So…" Asami lifts her glass and motions it in my direction. I cautiously lift my own and give it a peculiar inspection. "I've taken it you've never drank before, then?"

"Um, no… No, I haven't." I bring the glass to my nose and give it a sniff. Smells fruity. "Is it good?" I ask her, and she giggles.

"It's very good." Asami takes another small sip. "Opal certainly has good taste in wine."

I stare down at my glass again, seeing my worried eyes reflect off the surface of the clear liquid. Should I do this? I've never drank before. I mean, it's not beer - but it's still alcoholic.

"Do… Do you think I should try it?"

"I think so - even if you might not like it, you'd at least know what it tastes like."

I nod. Yeah, that doesn't sound that bad. If anyone ever asks me if I've ever drank before, I can totally tell them I did. Even if it may have been a little, haha. But hey, I've gotta live up to my reputation as Korra - and that means taking stupid risks and making dumb decisions. Alright - let's do this thing!

"I'm gonna drink it."

"Okay."

"I'm totally going to do it."

"Alright."

"I'm going to drink for the first time, Asami."

"I understand that."

"Are you watching this? Make sure you remember this - it's a big milestone in your girlfriend's life, okay? I want to make sure you're mentally recording this."

"I'm watching, Korra," Asami laughs and I eye the glass in my hand again before placing it to my lips and chugging it down in one fell swoop as Asami watches on in amusement.

"Pwah!" I breathe out, feeling the last of the cool, crisp liquid wash down my throat. "Wow, that was kinda…" I pick up my glass and stare at it's empty form.

"Kind of good?" Asami finishes for me, and I grin over at her.

"Yeah," I say.

"I'm glad you're learning to let loose a little, Korra," Asami chuckles, and she wiggles a little in her seat, getting more comfortable, I presume. "It's really cute when you're all embarrassed and nervous and all that, but I really want you to learn to be more open around me." She places her glass down on the table and reaches over to touch my hand gingerly. "I want to be someone you confide in - so you don't have to be afraid."

I can see the warmth clearer than ever in Asami's eyes as she speaks, and I know she's telling the truth and being completely honest with me. Her words (once again) shoot me right through the heart.

I flip Asami's hand over with my own and give it a gentle squeeze. "I know."

* * *

A plate of lasagna and about two (or was it three? I can't really remember…) glasses of wine later, I stand up from my spot at the table, pushing my chair back.

I - I don't really think I'm feeling too good. "I'm going to go to the… the bathroom," I point to the light emanating from the restaurant's doorway. "I'll be back, alright?"

Asami places her wine glass back down on the table, having halted it to her cherry lips halfway before hearing my proclamation. "Are you alright, Korra?"

My head is swirling, and I don't really know if I'm alright or not. Everything is starting to look really strange - I only had two or three glasses of wine - could I really be that bad with liquor? "I - I think I drank too much, maybe…" My words comes out a bit slurred, and my face feels hot.

Asami's silent for a moment as I guess she's trying to figure out how to assess the situation.

A few seconds later I feel someone's elbow nudge me lightly in the ribs. "What's going on, Korrie? You done with your dinner?" Opal chuckles before looking over me again. "Oh god, Korra - you're not drunk, are you?"

"Uhhh… Kind of, I think…?"

"Wow, I didn't think you'd be one to get tipsy so easily," Opal begins to herself, and I feel like giving her face a slap. I would probably miss by a mile though if I tried to right now, sadly.

"Sh-Shut up..." I say, leaning into her and she grabs me by the shoulders as Asami comes over to my side. I want to make my way to the restroom, but Asami's strong hold, which is now around my waist, restrains me. "A-Asami…" I groan, trying to pull away from her.

"Okay Korra, I'll help you to the bathroom." Asami carefully drapes her arm over my shoulder and we begin walking away, Opal stranded behind us. Asami turns her head to face Opal for a quick second before we completely disappear back inside the restaurant. "I'll be back to help pay for the check, alright?" are the words I hear, slightly muffled by my foggy mind.

The next thing I know I'm leaning in front of the mirror in the restroom. From what I can assess I look pretty much fine; my cheeks are a bit red and I look a bit drowsy. Aside from that, I feel like crap.

I can't go home like this. My parents would ground me if they found out I had been out drinking. Plus, I didn't really tell them that I was taking Asami out on a date either - I just said that I was going over to Opal's and wouldn't be back until later.

I see Asami's worried gaze penetrate mine through the mirror as we make eye contact, and she places a warm hand on my back, rubbing softly. "Korra, you can't go home like this…"

"I - I know," I say shakily, leaning down closer to the sink. I'm glad Asami knows what I'm thinking, but I don't have any idea as to what I should do if I can't go home. My mind is too much a drunken mess to contain anything other than the thought that having my parents see me drunk would give them both heart attacks.

I turn to look at Asami. "What… What should I do? What do I tell them?"

"Well…" Asami looks at the ground. "What _did_ you tell them?"

"I said I was going over to Opal's."

"Okay, well, that's easy then," Asami straightens up and walks over to the bathroom door, pushing it open slightly. "I'll talk to Opal about this - I think there's something we can do about it."

I squint my now suddenly drowsy eyes at her curiously. "There is?"

"Mhm." Asami nods her head and smiles slyly at me. "You could always spend the night at my place."

* * *

 **first note: i have a few projects due in the upcoming month, so uploads may get pushed back a little due to homework. which means they might not be weekly... sorry. D:**

 **second note: what did you think of korra's first hot date? success or epic fail? xD i'd really like to hear back in a review - i've (like i've probs mentioned before) never been on a date (or drank, for that matter), so i really can't associate with korra here, sadly enough... yep, i'm a bit pathetic, haha. xD**

 **third note: i hope all of you have a happy halloween, and i can't wait to hear back from you! :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**i'm aliiiiiiveeeee - yeah, school projects and the holidays didn't manage to kill me. yet. ;-;**

 **to all my old readers: hello again~! to all the new readers: hello to you too~! i think it's been about a month since the last update? what the heck, i really didn't think it'd be that long, haha. hopefully you'll enjoy this chapter after the long wait. (asami pov this time, just to refresh your memory)**

* * *

 **Night to Morning**

I don't really know why almost every time I go out with Korra we always end up switching cars with someone else.

I had called for someone to deliver my convertible to the restaurant rather quickly; it would have been better to take my car rather than Korra's. For one reason, Korra can't drive her own car (and I'm much more comfortable driving my own), and for the second reason, if my father were to arrive home he'd see the foreign vehicle parked out on our driveway (which if he did, I'm sure he'd be asking who I had over). All in all, the less trouble that could possibly occur would involve me taking my own car.

I watch Opal and Bolin wave to Korra and I through the rearview mirror of my convertible, Korra's car keys clutched tightly in Opal's fist. I frown and pull out of the parking space, and then I quietly turn onto the main road to head back to my place. It's dark out, but I want to see how Korra's doing, so I steal a glance to my left.

She's buckled into the seat beside me with a somewhat frustrated, somewhat dazed look on her face, and I feel bad for her. Even though she hadn't exactly planned tonight (because in reality Opal and Bolin did all the planning), I know that she had wanted it to be something special.

Now I'm driving her to my house in her currently drunken state.

Would it be my fault?

I don't know - I feel like it is. I feel bad that her attempt to make tonight memorable has gone awry, and it's partially mine and Opal's fault.

"Korra?" I ask, glancing at her again for a brief moment as so not to keep my eyes off the road for too long. "How are you holding up?"

Korra groans and rubs her eyes with the back of her hand. I don't know if she's falling asleep, but she looks really tired now. Exhausted, even. "I-I'm doing alright," she says, and slumps down deeper into the seat. "'Sami, it's really hot in here…"

"Okay," I reach out and turn on the car's ac. "I'm turning on the air right now. Hang in there, alright? We'll make it to my place soon."

Korra nods sleepily and leans her head back down on the seat belt strap against her cheek.

I sigh and press down on the button to lower the window, and a cool breeze tousles my hair. I don't know if it's the guilt bothering me or what, but I'm starting to feel a bit warmer myself.

Korra and I drive in silence for the rest of the ride home.

* * *

"Here, just make sure you don't let go, alright?" I tell Korra as I wrap her arm around my shoulder, me doing the same to her. "We're going to go inside now."

Korra makes a sloppy attempt to wave in rebuttal. "I don't really wanna…"

I grab Korra's chin and force her to look at me in the eyes. "You're not going to stay out here in the car all night, okay?" The blue irises before me dart back and forth, pleading silently. But of course I'm not going to listen to her - I can't leave her out here all night just because she's drunk and doesn't want anyone to see her. "No one's home right now anyways - it's just going to be you and me, alright?"

The blush on Korra's face deepens and I take a cautious step forward before finally realizing what I had just said, and probably what she thought I had just said. "I didn't mean it like that, I meant that my dad isn't here so you don't have to worry about him seeing you…"

Korra nods and I leave it at that, continuing back on our way up to the stairs at the front of the house. On the way up Korra stumbles slightly, but I hold her tight so that she doesn't end up falling.

"Okay, here we are…" I say, slowly pushing open the door after gently prodding it with my one free hand. It's never locked; my father always comes home at odd hours of the night and/or day, and he tells me to leave it open so that it would make it easier for him to come and go. Not that I'm disagreeing. It's much easier for me too to come and go whenever I please (which is something he doesn't seem to care about either).

"Let me take those off for you." I reach down and tap Korra's feet, which she lifts a few inches off of the floor. I carefully slip my finger into the side and give a small tug, to which the footwear responds by falling to the wooden floor. I know for a fact that I can walk the entire stretch to my room just fine, but considering that Korra isn't at her best, I think that it'd be safer to have her take off her heels.

A few minutes later I'm giving my bedroom door a nudge with the side of my shoulder, and Korra and I emerge victorious as I walk over to the bed and gently remove the arm over my shoulder.

Korra remains silent, but tugs at the collar around her neck. She doesn't look at me, and I'm unsure if she's disappointed or angry. And if she is - would it be with herself or with me?

"You can sleep here," I say, smiling weakly at her and gesturing to the bed she's currently sitting on. "That's fine with you, right?"

"U-Um, yeah…" Korra reaches up to her neck and tugs at the collar again, and finally looks up at me, a blank expression on her tanned face. The room is dark, and I want to turn on the light on the bedstand but I'm conflicted whether I should stay by Korra's side or not.

"S'hot in here... " Korra says, her fingers still around the collar at the base of her neck. "I wanna take this off." Korra moves her fingers down to her abdomen, where she begins fumbling with the buttons on the front of her vest.

I know that in her current state Korra isn't going to get her vest off that easily, but I don't know if she'd like me to help or not.

"'Sami… Take it off for me, will you?" are the words that leave Korra's mouth, and I can feel the steady pounding of my chest suddenly.

Korra leans forward and tugs on my arm, her skin burning against mine and the grip strong. I don't know if I should listen to Korra -

"Please, 'Sami…" Korra says again, tugging me a little harder this time.

I gently pry her hand off of my arm, and lean down to her level, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You want me to take off your vest? Are you sure?"

Korra nods. "Yes… I've asked you already, 'Sami…" Korra's usually bright blue eyes are a bit cloudy, and I know she's still under the influence. I just want to make sure that she's not going to start throwing a strip fest or anything, so that's why I'm trying to make sure that she knows what she's saying.

I don't ask Korra to stand up, but I start undoing the buttons on her vest, which I thought would be harder than I previously figured and surprisingly isn't. Once I'm done I straighten up again and place my hands on my hips, nodding approvingly at the sleepy Korra wearing a light blue dress shirt. "Alright, I took off your vest. I'll go get you some water and be right back, okay?" I point to the door and start making my way out.

In the kitchen I grab a glass and fill it up with water, and add a few ice cubes to it as well to help make Korra feel more comfortable. She has been saying she's really hot, after all. Maybe this would cool her down some.

When I get back to the room I step in some sort of soft jumble of clothing by the bed, and look down to see a blue dress shirt on the floor.

Oh crap. She took that off too, didn't she?

I look up to see Korra standing somewhat slumped over, attempting to unbutton her pants in nothing but a sports bra.

I can feel another wave of heat rush through my body and I quickly make my way over to the nightstand, where I place the glass of water down before rushing to Korra's side. "Korra, what are you doing?" I know what she's doing, and I know why she's doing it, but I can't help but ask the question.

Korra simply looks up at me and frowns. "Tryin'ta get this off…" She drops her gaze back down to her waist, where her fingers are fumbling once again, but this time with her bottoms instead of her top. "'Ready took off the shirt, cause it was making me hot."

"Korra, you can't take your pants off without putting something else on," I tell her, going over to my dresser. "Let me find you some shorts and a shirt or something okay?" I avert my gaze (it's a little hard not trying to stare at her too much without a shirt on) and begin shuffling through the dresser drawer, where I find a pair of exercise shorts and a t-shirt that would probably fit her slightly smaller yet muscular frame.

"Okay, here you go -" When I turn around Korra's halfway through pulling down her pants, and I quickly turn back around, my cheeks on fire. "Korra, I thought I told you -"

Inhale Asami, take a deep breath. Korra doesn't really know what she's doing right now, so you've got to be the person to help her out here. Stay calm. You'll be fine.

I inhale and turn around to face Korra, trying to keep my eyes away from staring at her semi-clothed body. Extending my arm I shove the clothes into her chest, and she clumsily grasps them. "H-Here your clothes are."

Wait - what am I saying? Korra's already shown me she had a hard time taking off her clothes (which is usually a lot easier than putting them on, I think), so I can only imagine just how much more difficult it might be. Especially if you're a bit on the tipsy side and have a stubborn and insistent streak (a.k.a. Korra).

I draw a bit closer to Korra and reach out to gently grab the clothes again that I've tried to hand her. "A-Actually, I think you might need a little help putting them on, now that I think about it." I take out the pair of shorts first and motion for her to lift up a leg, and with one hand I grab her arm and place her hand on my shoulder. "Here," I say, bending over as she lifts up a leg, "shorts first."

Surprisingly Korra is able to get the shorts on without falling over, and then I reach over to the bed where I've tossed the shirt to put it on Korra next. "Now we're going to do the shirt - raise your arms for me so I can slip it over your head."

Korra obliges and I slip the head hole over her. When I tug the shirt down I'm met with those icy blue eyes of hers, and I can tell she's smiling at me. What about, I don't know - but I can feel myself blushing again as my face grows warmer.

"Wh-What is it?" I say, suddenly self-conscious.

"You're really pretty, 'Sami," Korra says, and I try not to smile at her dazedly stated comment. Of course I have to smile though.

"Thank you, Korra," I say, and begin pulling down the rest of the shirt down her toned front.

"Hey, 'Sami?"

"Yes?" I smile, and I bring my eyes back up to Korra, who suddenly leans in and plants a gentle kiss on my parted lips.

"What -"

Korra gives a small chuckle and grins. "Thanks for helping me, 'Sami."

Having been taken completely by surprise, I can't help but feign an annoyed look. "Why you little sneak…" I grin back at Korra, who's managed to pull her arms through the rest of the shirt. "Thinking you can steal kisses from me, do you?"

"Maybe." Korra laughs and before I know it she's grabbed my arm again and flops down backward onto the bed, pulling me down with her.

"Hey…" I try moving, but Korra's strong arms are wrapped around my shoulders, and my elbows are on either side of Korra's face, propping myself up. My fingers have somehow found themselves tangled in her soft brown hair, and my breath hitches.

We're both silent for a moment, and then Korra speaks again, this time in a raspy whisper. She moves her hand to my face, where she brushes some hair away. My skin burns against her touch, and I try to look away but her gentle blue gaze has me completely immobilized. "I wanna kiss you again, 'Sami…"

I grin and lean my face down toward Korra's, aware of the lack of personal space between us at the moment, but which is also making me feel a bit giddy.

Wait a minute. Korra's drunk. I wonder if she's aware of this, of what she's doing?

If anyone, I need to be the one in charge here.

"Korra," I breathe out, letting her play with my hair. "You're drunk." When I say this it comes out a bit as a dry chuckle, and I give my head a small shake to emphasize my point. "You need to rest so that you're not out of it tomorrow like you are right now," I tell her, pressing down on the mattress to push myself up.

"Aww… 'Sami," Korra moans bitterly, attempting to grab me by my shoulders but narrowly missing as her fingers comb through the air. "But I wanna kiss you!"

"I'm going to get ready for bed too," I say as I walk over to my dresser and pull out another t-shirt, this one longer than the one I gave Korra. Turning around I see Korra sitting cross-legged on the bed with a grumpy yet cute expression on her face. She squints at me and I giggle. I turn back around, but keep my eyes on Korra as I remove my cardigan and tease my dress down lower, revealing the backless portion of my attire for that evening.

I can hear Korra gulp, and I smirk. "If you go to bed right now, I'll make sure you can kiss me all you want tomorrow."

"U-Uh…" Korra manages from across the room.

I bore her clear blue eyes with my own green ones. "Go on." I gesture my hand in her direction and she looks at me, confused. "Go to sleep."

I know I'm making it hard on her for her to close her eyes and get some rest, but I can't help it - it's all part of the fun, I think. My one goal is to get her to fall asleep so that she's better tomorrow, and I'm going to make sure that happens. But no one said I couldn't have a little fun along the way.

Korra groans and falls back onto the bed reluctantly, pulling back the sheets and crawling under them sloppily. I watch until she comes to a halt, a curious mound shrouded in blanket now randomly stationed in the middle of my bed. "'Kay…" A voice calls out, muffled by the sheets and comforter. "I'm 'sleep now…"

"Good," I reply with a chuckle. I then discard the rest of my dress as I let it fall to the floor, and tug on my shorts and t-shirt.

A moment later after I return from using the restroom I carefully get into bed beside Korra. I pull up the sheets closer to my chest and stare at the mound in the middle of the bed, which is moving up and down slowly (Korra's heavy breathing). I wonder if she's really asleep by now?

I decide to take a peek and throw the blankets over my head. Burrowing a little deeper I find Korra, nestled into a tight ball; something of a sort of awkward fetal position. Her eyes are closed, and her chest rises and falls steadily.

I smile. Especially when she's sleeping, Korra is simply and utterly cute - just adorable. I sigh contentedly and move my body closer to hers, feeling the warmth of her skin travel across mine. I guess my promise to her must have worked; she went straight to bed.

Finding myself suddenly a bit tired too, I yawn and nonchalantly (I know Korra is asleep, so I don't really know why I'm doing this) wrap my arm around her, pulling her closer.

Korra doesn't budge, so I figure she really is asleep, and I smile at her slumbering figure before closing my eyes for the final time that night.

* * *

I manage to hear the alarm on my phone go off through the blankets, and I grumble sleepily, pushing the sheets off of me. Sitting myself up I reach over to the nightstand beside the bed and paw around, sleep clouding my vision. I play around with the screen for a bit before I'm able to silence the alarm, and then I yawn.

Today's Monday, I think?

That means school.

Not that we can't miss class, you know. I've skipped a few times myself if there was something better that I had to do.

And that something better is right under my blanket.

"Korra?" I say, slowly lifting the rest of the comforter up. I see Korra's sleeping figure, still curled up into a tight ball. One of her hands is grasping the fabric of my tee, and I chuckle to myself. She's always doing strange stuff while she's sleeping (and we've only slept twice together).

"Korraaa~" I nudge her with my hand, but she still doesn't budge. Unfortunately for me I'll probably have to find out the hard way that Korra sleeps like a log. Maybe I should go with another approach, then?

I raise my eyebrow mischievously as a few impish thoughts converse in my mind with each other, but before I can put any of them into action I feel something seize my middle and drag me under the blankets (all the while me shrieking somewhat uncontrollably due to surprise).

"Hey."

Korra's eyes are wide open, and a shocking bright blue. She has one of those crooked grins on her face that she so usually wears, and her hair is disheveled in the most attractive manner I can't begin to describe.

"You butt!" I say, giving her a playful shove, and she laughs. "You scared me half to death dragging me under the blankets like that - I felt like some kind of bug being hauled down a hole by one of those creepy trapdoor spiders."

"Oh ho ho…" Korra laughs, wrapping her arms closer around my waist and pulling me closer to her. "Now you're comparing me to a spider? That's not something you hear everyday from your girlfriend."

"That's because I'm not your everyday girlfriend," I reply as I lean in closer and give her a soft kiss on her nose, which she giggles at. I then pull away and peer into her eyes, studying the clear blue of her irises. "Are you feeling better?"

"Mhm," Korra nods and I smile. "Much better, thank you."

I take a deep inhale and sigh in relief/mock disappointment. "I should have known from the way you so violently grabbed me and pulled me under the blankets so suddenly."

"Hey!" Korra chuckles again, and I laugh along with her. "You're still making this sound so much more gruesome than it already is!"

"Hahaha, I know…" I say, leaning in closer to her again, my eyes drawn to her lips. "It isn't that bad at all, now that I think about it…"

"Do you think…" Korra's words are slow and cautious. "Do you think you can still keep that promise from last night?"

Oh. Right. I did make a promise, didn't I? It sort of slipped my mind this morning, but I remember now that Korra's mentioned it. Maybe she wasn't that drunk after all.

"Of course," I wrap my arms around Korra's shoulders and she leans into me, our lips meeting in a gentle but passionate lock.

Korra and I are only kissing for a few seconds before we break apart, a sudden knock at the door.

Oh my god - I didn't expect him to be around this morning.

"Asami, do you have someone in there with you?"

My eyes are wide open as me and Korra stare at each other, unsure of what might happen next.

"Uhhh…" I say loud enough for my dad to hear me, and long enough to stall for some time as I assess the situation in lightening-fast sequences.

Would my dad get mad if I said I had another girl in my room with me? Probably not.

Would he get the idea we were doing something two girls who are just friends wouldn't normally do? I'm not sure.

Overall question to sum up everything: Would he care?

I really don't think he'd actually bat an eyelash at the situation, if I have my dad all figured out. Which I think I pretty much do.

Korra's eyes dart rapidly back and forth as she tries to understand what's going to happen next, what I want her to do.

"Ummm, yeah, I do have someone in here with me," I call out, my eyes still focused on Korra's. "It's okay," I say, reaching up for the blanket as I speak in a hushed voice. "He'd be fine. Just go along with me," I give her a wink.

I sit up and push back the blanket, Korra following me. I see her hands are tightly clutching the bedsheet, and I understand that she's probably worried about what my father would think.

"You have school today, don't you?" I hear him say from the other side of the door, and I relax. I know he probably wouldn't ask to come in, but knowing him, this is a way for him to try and lure me outside.

"Yeah, in a little while," I say back confidently. "My friend just spent the night over last night. We'll be on our way to school in a bit, so you don't have to worry."

My father doesn't know my exact schedule since he's always gone, but you know - sometimes dads can be kind of snoopy. It gets a bit annoying sometimes, especially when they're (mine, in this case) gone so much and then at certain times they get all protective and observant. It's somewhat hypocritical and mocks the nature of a true, honest relationship, I think. I've just never had the guts to tell him that straight to his face.

"Alright," he says, and I can hear him walk tentatively away from the door.

Things are silent for a moment before Korra trembles and latches onto my arm, me giggling at her sudden antics.

"Is he gone?" she asks in a whisper, and I nod my head.

"Yes, he's gone." I swing my legs over the side of the bed and stand up before turning around to face Korra. She stares back at me with a somewhat worried look etched into her features. "It's alright," I smile, and extend a hand in her direction. "He's probably heading off to the kitchen for some breakfast if he hasn't already had some, so we're good for now."

"Damn," Korra laughs nervously as she grabs my hand and jumps out of bed. "I was so scared when he knocked on the door - god, I think I almost peed my pants."

"You're always almost peeing your pants."

"I know," Korra says as she follows me off to the bathroom. "Everyone is always trying to scare me to make me pee my pants. I hate it."

"Then you need to relax more, babe," I say as I lean in to give Korra a kiss on her forehead, to which she frowns at (I'm pretty sure she was hoping for one on the lips, but sometimes I like to tease her).

"Here," I pick up my toothbrush and hand it over to her. "Brush your teeth with this."

"T-This is your toothbrush..?" she stutters as a blush begins to spread across her cheeks.

"Yes, it's my toothbrush," I chuckle, grabbing a towel from the rack behind me.

"..."

"You can go out with bad breath if you want. Personally I don't like to accidentally suffocate people so early in the morning, but it's your choice."

Korra puts on a determined look and quickly grabs the toothpaste, putting a sizable dollop of it on the brush. "I - I never said that I didn't brush my teeth!" She shoves the brush forcefully into her mouth and begins scrubbing away. "As a maher of fah, I brush my teeh _twifce_ in duh mornins…" she goes on, and I laugh as I gather up another towel for Korra.

"I'll leave this here for you so you can take a shower," I lay down one of the towels on the counter as I back out of the bathroom. "I'm going to go pick some clothes for you so that you can have something fresh for when you get out, and then I'll take a shower myself."

Korra turns to me, toothpaste creeping out of the side of her mouth and her hair a complete but adorable mess. "Uh, ohey… Fanks, 'Sami."

I giggle and close the bathroom door behind me, making my way back into my room. Once there I begin sifting through my closet for some clothes for Korra and myself.

I know my father will probably be waiting for us after we're done getting ready. It's all part of the father game he plays that I mentioned before - sometimes he'll be curious and protective, and other times he'll be careless and we won't have more than minute-long conversations for a few weeks.

Whatever it is he wants to find out, it's a game I can easily play as well.

We've already been at it for so long.

* * *

 **christmas is almost here... and i know a lot of you know what that means. presents? gingerbread houses? close, but not quite...**

 **FINALS! D:**

 **haha, i know you probably didn't want me to bring that up, but i just thought i'd mention it. idk if i'll be as busy this month as i was last month, but i'll do the best that i can to continue updating weekly. i'm also trying to work on another fanfic at the moment, so hopefully i'll be able to get a chapter for that one out soon (if any of you happen to be reading it or anything. if you're not, don't worry, no hard feelings no hard feelings...).**

 **please leave a review if you get the chance, and thanks for reading! :D**


	13. Chapter 13

**i kinda just started writing this chapter in another asami pov, so i hope you guys like it. next one will be korra, def totes.**

* * *

 **To See You Smile**

"Do I look okay?" Korra pulls slightly at the edge of the long-sleeved gray shirt I've let her borrow. "It's kinda…"

"Kinda me?" I giggle, and she sticks her tongue out.

"Yeah -" she replies, putting on a pair of my boots. "This totally screams 'Asami! Asami Sato here!', and I am _so_ not totally Asami Sato, if you know what I mean."

"No, no I don't know what you mean," I laugh, pulling a wool sweater over me. The thick fabric slides over my head, pushing my somewhat damp hair against my neck for a moment and I shiver from the cold. "Just kidding Korra, I know what you mean," I say, turning to look at her as she fusses with tying the boots from her cross-legged position on the floor.

After she's done (which surprisingly only takes a few seconds, but judging by how much trouble she was having earlier I swore it would have taken longer) she stands up and grabs a satchel I've lent her, where we've managed to stick her clothes from last night into. The only thing left would be her shoes, which I left by the door. Which was probably how my dad figured out there was someone over.

"Okay, I think I'm about done," Korra states proudly, and I smile at her.

"Sounds good. Let me just grab my books and things and then we can head on down to get something to eat before we leave," I say, placing a few of my own textbooks into the satchel that I usually take to school with me. Once I'm finished I sling it over my shoulder and then I grab Korra gently by the hand. "Come on," I whisper secretly even though I know my dad's probably in the kitchen or in his office enjoying a nice cup of black coffee.

Korra gives me a curious stare. "Should I be worried about this?" she asks, eyeing the doorway we're about to exit through and what might await us on the other side. "Should I be worried about _him_?"

"Not remotely," I reply, dragging her out the door as I lead the way.

I decide it's best to play it cool and act like nothing serious has happened (which nothing serious has happened, in all due respect), and I maintain my hold on Korra's hand as we walk down the hallway to the kitchen.

As expected, when we enter there's my father - a familiar yet foreign middle aged man with graying hair and glasses. He's all dressed up in his normal business attire, so I'm guessing he's got someplace important he's going to soon. It bothers me that he's so suddenly piqued in interest of who I've had staying over the previous night, and went through all the trouble of making things kind of awkward by choosing to remain here in the kitchen as he 'innocently' reads the paper.

"Um, good morning," I say, waving my hand at him. I'm still gingerly holding onto Korra's hand as she stands nervously beside me, and I can feel my father's eyes travel across the two of us for what seems like an eternity.

But I don't want to be scared. I won't let him install fear in me for who I choose to be with. He shouldn't have the right to make personal choices for me when he's gone all the time and I rarely get to spend time with him unless if it's for something work-related.

My dad is silent for a moment before closing his paper and placing it down on the table. "Good morning, Asami." He looks over to Korra and nods his head at her. "Good morning to you too..?"

"Korra," I say as Korra opens her mouth but no sound comes out thanks to me. "She spent the night over the other day."

My dad nods and stands up, taking his mug with him. "Ah, I see." He takes another sip of his coffee. "Aren't you two girls going to have breakfast?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact we were," I say, gently tugging at Korra's hand again as I walk over to the counter. I can feel his gaze fall upon the joining of our hands as we cross him, but I don't care.

I find a box of freshly made bagels on the counter and remove the lid, pulling a couple out. "It's just that we still have to be on our way to school, so I think it's best that we don't spend too much time eating breakfast. Korra and I have to be on our way." I hand one of the bagels over to Korra, which she begins generously stuffing into her mouth.

I keep the other bagel in my hand and guide Korra back out of the kitchen, but she pauses by the doorway and I raise an eyebrow.

"Was nice mee'in you, Mr. Sa'o," Korra says through a mouthful of bagel before I drag her away, my girlfriend flailing behind me.

We get to the entrance and I pick up her shoes, stuffing them into her bag before opening the door and exiting as Korra follows after me.

The air is chilly with it still being somewhat early in the morning, so I quickly unlock my car and hop in.

Korra opens the passenger side door and takes a seat, gulping loudly as she swallows some of her bagel. "Hm. That was kinda interesting. And quick."

"Yeah…" I sigh, resting my head on the steering wheel. "Sorry. It's just that my dad and I -"

"You guys aren't really that close. Yeah, you mentioned that once before," Korra says, taking another bite of her breakfast. "I hope me being there didn't make things awkward…" Korra says, looking over at me. Her cheeks are stuffed with bagel and I can't help but smile at her adorably stated consideration.

"It wasn't you," I tell her. "Things have always been a bit distant between the two of us."

"Do you think -" Korra bites her lip and stares down at her bagel, which she's now cradling carefully in her hands as she rests them on her lap. "Do you think he knows there's something between us?"

I shrug and stick the key into the ignition, starting up the engine. "I honestly don't think he'd care. But even if he did, it shouldn't be of any importance to him." I begin backing out and we start on our way out of the estate. "He's always gone, so I don't think it'd be right for him to try and decide who I get to be with if he doesn't bother with my personal life all of the time like a normal, caring parent would."

Korra just nods at my explanation and we turn out onto the main road after we pass by the front gates. "Um, are we still going to school? Cause, like, I don't have my books or anything with me…"

I laugh and throw my head back, before sighing. "My dear Korra… That was just an excuse to leave the house safely without my father pestering us. Of course we aren't going to school."  
"We're not?"

"Nope." I shake my head and smirk. "We're going to to do something much better."

"Like what?"

I rip off a piece of my bagel and begin to chew. "I'm going to take you someplace special."

"Okay…" Korra's tone is confused, but I know she's kind of excited.

"Where is this special place you're talking about, and why are we going there?"

"It's to treat you for last night - I know things didn't really turn out as planned, so I thought it might be nice to have a little quality time to ourselves. No Bolin or Opal or Mako." I turn to look at her and grin. "Just you and me."

"You know," Korra chuckles as she turns on the radio. "Since I've met you I think I've started doing things that I probably wouldn't have done before." She pauses, and after a few seconds of tuning she turns her blue eyes on me. "You're dangerous, y'know."

"No, that's you, you creepy tunnel spider," I laugh. "Why on earth would _I_ be the dangerous one here?"

"Well," Korra states inquiringly, "You've got me to go out walking around at night wearing nothing but a swimsuit. I've somehow managed to convince myself that kissing in public is okay -"

"It _is_ okay!" I chuckle, but Korra continues to ignore me as she counts her fingers and label all the things I've done with her (which she's jokingly admitting are hazardous).

"I've seen a waiter's mustache catch fire, I've actually drank wine and gotten drunk, and now I'm ditching school…" Korra closes her fist and nods at me in mock disappointment. "Wow, I never thought I'd say this Asami - but I think you're turning me into a common delinquent."

"Am not!" I shoot back playfully, poking her in the ribs. "Kissing in public and wearing swimsuits and seeing mustaches flare up has nothing to do with being a delinquent!"

"Oh - well then I'm guessing you don't know the modern delinquent then?" Korra grins and raises an eyebrow at me.

"Maybe I don't?" I grin back and then we're leaning in again closer to each other, our lips mere inches away.

A car honks and I pull on the steering wheel, the car swaying back onto the lane.

"Damn Asami…" Korra says under her breath after a moment of silence and shock. I blink. "You almost got us killed there."

"That's because you were distracting me," I say cheekily, not looking at Korra.

"Don't start trying to blame other people now," Korra teases and chuckles, and I have to laugh along with her too.

"You're not going to distract me anymore though," I tighten my grip on the steering wheel and force my eyes straight ahead as we continue on down the freeway at a speed only I'm familiar with. "I'm going to get us to this special place in one piece, and you can't stop me."

* * *

"You've got to be kidding me."  
Korra and I look out the car window, the signature buildings and rides clearly noticeable from a ways off.

Korra turns to look at me and I can see the excitement in her eyes. It looks like she's about to bounce out of her seat, but luckily she's got the seatbelt around her to restrain her for the moment. "You're kidding me, right?"

I shake my head and laugh. "No, I am not kidding you."

"You're being serious? We're really going here? This was the special place?"

"Yes - this was the special place," I nod and pull into the drive to enter into the parking lot, and after I pay the person at the entrance booth we find a nice spot and I turn off the engine. "Well!" I drop my hands from the wheel and turn to smile at Korra. "Are you ready to go?"

"Am I ever!" she replies as she yanks off her seatbelt and springs out the car door, closing it with a semi-loud slam. I kind of wish she'd be more careful making use of this energy and excitement I know she's got…

"I love this place!" Korra fist pumps and runs over to me on the other side of the car as I close my own door and lock the car. "Oh god, Asami, I can't begin to describe to you just how much I love Disneyland -" Korra grabs onto my arm and pulls me closer to her chest, and I can't help but blush some at the contact.

I wrap my arms around myself and smile. I knew she would like this.

"And I can't begin to describe to you just how much I love you."

I freeze as a pair of warm lips press themselves against my cheek for a brief moment, and I turn to Korra as she laughs. I've never heard those words come from her before, and just hearing Korra say them has got me breathless.

"Thanks, 'Sami," Korra smiles up at me, and I know now for sure my face is bright red.

"Y-You're welcome," I manage to stutter out. I force myself to keep breathing, but it's somehow incredibly hard at the moment. "I'm glad you like the surprise."

"Heck yeah I do!" Korra says vibrantly, and I giggle at her enthusiasm as she lets go of my arm and runs ahead. "Woohoo, Disneyland, here I come!"

I chuckle again and watch Korra as she waves to me from around a mile away (okay, I'm just exaggerating here - but she did manage to get pretty far in a short period of time), shaking my head.

As much as I would have liked to, I just couldn't find the words I wanted to say so badly when Korra had me senseless a few moments earlier. They were there - they really were. I hope that even though I wasn't able to say them to her then that at least she knows that I do the things I do for her because of that. Because of those three little words.

* * *

Although I would never admit it to anyone, I am deathly afraid of roller coasters. And it's kind of strange just how scared I can get on roller coasters, because I'm a such a skilled driver - I live for speed, the high-throttle danger and excitement that flows through my being and makes my adrenaline pump everytime I press down on the pedal.

Maybe it's the fact that on a roller coaster I have no control, and am at the mercy of a giant contraption that goes at it's own speed on it's own time and already has a set mind of where it's headed on the pre-set track?

And not only that - but Disneyland is a place where there aren't hardly any roller coasters (there's just one _actual_ roller coaster, I think? All of the rest of them are pretty small.). And sadly I had to endure riding pretty much every one with Korra because of course she wanted to go on all of the rides…

It's not even that busy though, because it's a Monday and most people are either at work or at school (but not us, because we ditched). It's nice, because now I can spend a lot of time with Korra - just her and I - and we can have lots of fun together.

"You've gotta try this, 'Sami -" Korra shoves some sort of fruity ice cream in my direction, and I stare at it for a while. The girl before me looks at me with wide blue eyes and an incredibly cute smile adorned by smudges of the frozen dessert. "It's super good, and you can't get it anywhere else but here!"

"Hmm…" I hum, looking at the ice cream she's extended in front of herself. "Maybe I might try some." I lean in, making for a fake attempt to get a taste of the ice cream, but instead go around the side and quickly slide my tongue over the corner of her mouth, licking away the mess that was once there. "You're right - it is really good," I grin, and Korra blushes heavily.

"A-Asami…" she pouts, pursing her lips together and turning away. "I-I told you what I thought about kissing in public, remember?"

"You just said that I was turning you into a delinquent," I say, leaning in again and taking a real lick from Korra's ice cream this time. "You have no idea what you're turning me into."

Korra takes another lick from her ice cream, and we continue walking on down the path of shops. "And what am I turning you into, may I ask?"

"A kissing monster," I say, wrapping my arms around Korra's waist and tickling her stomach. I move my chin to rest it on Korra's shoulder, and she giggles, trying to pull away while making sure not to drop her dessert.

"Geez, Asami -" Korra laughs, and I plant a soft kiss on her warm neck. "Cut it out, haha!" she says as she swats at me with her free hand.

"Okay, okay…" I relent and pull away, instead grabbing Korra's hand and intertwining my fingers with her own. "I'll control myself."

"That's a good girl," Korra says, nodding in approval. "Hey!" she gasps, pointing to a sign at the edge of the street that says ' _Adventureland'_. "I wanna go there next, okay, 'Sami? They've got some really cool giant Tarzan treehouse and everything right next to the Indiana Jones ride, and then they've also got that Frontierland close by and I wanna go there too -"

"Sure, we can go anywhere you want," I say, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

"You're the best, Asami," Korra giggles and I only shrug.

"I just heard from a little bird that you liked Disneyland a lot," I say, looking away in a fake attempt to study the path to Adventureland.

"And which little bird may that have been?"

"Oh, I think his name was Bolin."

"And since when did you start talking to Bolin about my personal interests?" Korra questions, her interest now considerably raised.

"Oh, ever since I started dating you," I say coolly. "I want to make sure that my girlfriend is happy, is all."

Korra's silent for a moment, and I can tell she's studying my not-so-innocently smiling face. "Well then -"

I look at Korra and she gives me her lopsided grin, making my heart beat faster. "I think you're doing a wonderful job."

* * *

The day went on like that until we had to leave. I thought it would be best to go around 5-ish, since that would have been around the time Korra would end with swim on a normal school day.

Last night Opal took Korra's car to her house (Opal's house), so from all her parents know, Korra could have been at school today. She said that Monday they went straight back to work, so they were probably gone the whole day and wouldn't notice that she'd actually been with me at Disneyland (I know, I've come to realize that Korra, Opal, and I can be a bit sneaky).

I drop Korra off at Opal's house after we stop for dinner so that she can pick up her car and drive back home.

"Thanks for everything today, Asami," Korra says. She's standing outside the driver's window, and I shake my head. "I had a really good time."

"Don't worry about it, it was nothing. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, and I'm sorry about last night."

"Haha, don't worry about that either -" Korra chuckles, waving her hand at me. "I'm all better, so it's all good." She stops, placing a finger to her chin. "It was an interesting experience, though… Not that I'll ever do that again."

"Yeah, that may not be a good idea…" The two of us share a laugh, and then we fall silent, just staring into each other's eyes.

"U-Uhm, g-goodnight, Asami…" Korra says after a moment, rubbing the back of her neck. She then brings her hands together over the satchel's strap across her chest and fumbles with her fingers. "I-I guess I better get on home…"

"Um, yeah - me too…" I say, watching her shy gaze flicker across my face. I know I really want to do it. I really want to kiss her.

So I do.

I push myself up from out of my seat, my hands on the bottom of the car window. In one swift motion I connect my lips with hers for a brief second before pulling away.

"I'm sorry, haha," I blush, tucking back a strand of hair behind my ear. "I just had to - I couldn't let you go just like that."

"HEY!" a voice penetrates the comfortable silence and we look to see a small green buggy pulling into the driveway with a very familiar green-eyed girl inside. "Why are you kids kissing on my front lawn?!"

"Oh, be quiet!" Korra calls back, her now fierce eyes watching Opal as she parks beside me. "You don't even have a lawn in the front of your house, and I was just here to pick up my car, thank you very much. We were doing nothing more."

"Not true!" Opal shoots back as she turns off her car and strides over to Korra, the two of them now standing in front of me. "You were totally kissing. I saw you guys." She begins twirling a lanyard (a.k.a. Korra's keys) around her finger, smirking as she does so.

"Whatever." Korra makes a swift grab for her lanyard and snatches them back in an instant before giving Opal a semi-frightening sneer. "Asami and I were just leaving now, though."

"Okay," Opal waves a hand at us, and she turns to me, giving me a wink as Korra stalks off in annoyance. I chuckle. "Have a good night, you two."

"Thanks a lot, Opal," I say, starting up my engine again and backing out. "'Night, Opal," I wave, "'Night, Korra!"

"Bye, 'Sami." Korra gives me a smile I'm sure only I can see before entering her car, and I turn out of Opal's driveway back toward the direction of the estate.

In a few minutes I'm back home.

I push open the front door and take off my shoes, sighing in relief. It's been a long day. A long but enjoyable day. I think of Korra's face and how it lit up this morning, when we first arrived in the Disneyland vicinity. She had looked so excited then. And that's what makes everything worth it - just seeing that happy look on Korra's face.

The smile quickly disappears as I notice a light on farther down the hallway.

My dad's office.

I take a deep breath to brace myself and begin walking down the remainder of the hall. I know he's going to stop me.

"Asami."

"Yes?" I stop by the door. It's wide open, and my father's seated in his chair at his desk. A cluster of various papers is displayed in front of him, and he looks up from whatever it is he's been working on.

"You and -" His brows furrow together in confusion. " _Korra_ \- are you - are you dating?" His eyes have my own pinned, and I take another deep breath.

"Yes," I say matter-of-factly. Like I told myself before: I don't care what he thinks, and I don't think he should have the right to tell me who I should be with if he doesn't care and dote on me all the time like a normal father would do for his daughter. "Do you have a problem with it?"

"She's a girl," he says, looking back down at his papers.

"I know that," I reply. "She also happens to be the girl that I love. And the girl who loves me back."

He shakes his head. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Everyone else I've dated -" I don't know why, but I'm starting to get a bit excited now. Maybe it's because I'm finally telling him how I really feel. "they all date me because of the money. Because of the fame. Because of my _last name._ " I exhale, trying to calm myself down. "But Korra - Korra isn't like that. She likes me for who I am, not for what I have or what you have. She likes me just for being _me._ "

My eyes have been glued to my father since I've stepped into his office, and I know the gears in his mind are turning as he tries to understand what I've just said. "You do know that this might be bad for publicity?" he says, leaning back in his chair. "If information gets out that you are with another g-"

"I don't care about any of that," I cut him off. "I just want to be happy. I just want to do the things that _make_ me happy." It's occurred to me that I've managed to get very emotional during this talk with my father, and I feel a single tear trickle down my cheek, leaving a warm trail in it's wake. "Can't you want the same things for me?"

My father doesn't say anything.

I take it as his reply - a silent, acknowledging yet unaccepting form of his attention, that he at least listened to what I had to say - yet that doesn't mean he agrees with me.

I turn to leave.

"Asami."

"..."

"There's a meeting happening later this week up north to introduce a new line of one of the Sato Mobiles that's going to be produced… I would like it if you could please be present. It would mean a lot to the company as we begin setting this product up for sale."

I close my eyes and bite down on my lip, another salty tear finding it's way into my mouth.

"Sure, dad…" I croak out, shutting the office door behind me.

* * *

 **well, there ya have it. what do you think? asami as it tougher than we thought, i guess (well, of course i would know... i'm the one writing her, haha).**

 **hopefully this chapter was enjoyable, and please review and/or follow if you liked it and haven't already! ttfn, folks. ;)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Pizza and Poker**

I stare back at the chocolate brown eyes before me and squint into them. I squint into them really hard because I'm trying to look intimidating, but I'm not exactly sure it's working as well as I'd like it to.

"Give in."

I chuckle and shake my head from side to side, but I dare not break the invisible line holding my gaze taut. "Never."

"Oh, you're _so_ going to regret this," she laughs and I feel my stomach turn at her somehow frightening (I mean, why should they be this fear-inducing?) words.

"You _will_ tell me eventually," she says, lifting a brow as she smirks. "We made a bet before the beginning of this round that if I won you'd have to tell me anything I wanted, and you're already down to your pants."

I hold my gaze and bite my lower lip in resentment, although my cheeks flush a bit at the mention of what I only have on. Yeah, she does have a pretty good argument there… Gotta give her bonus points for that. And it's not my fault I'm so bad at strip poker; I mean, I try, but I guess I'm just not as good as I was hoping.

"She's right," Meelo sits beside me, a wide fan of cards in his hand as he shakes his head in what I think is pity. "Jinora's probably gonna win - just sayin'." He smiles up at me cheekily and I feel like tackling him right then and there, but settle for sticking my tongue out at him instead.

"Yeah, you are pretty bad at this game, Korra," Ikki's face is surprisingly concentrated, and she shuffles a few of the cards in her hand almost methodically as if she's got some kind of plan up her sleeve. It never ceases to amaze me how focused she can be whenever we decide to play some poker; I mean, she's just about as bad as Meelo in the hyper-sense, but then here she is, acting like she owns the entire freaking world.

Which is probably true at the moment, because I'm the only one out of all of them who has removed the most clothing. Ikki's only taken off her jacket so far while Meelo's lost a sock and his shirt, and then there's the boss Jinora over there - she hasn't even had to take off anything.

How the freaking heck does this happen to me? I mean, here I am with three kids sitting in a circle on the floor of my room and I'm pretty much half naked. I look down at my chest and bare stomach before rubbing a warm hand over the exposed skin, shuddering. It's a bit cold in here, although I've turned on the heater earlier. The only thing I have left is my sweatpants (because I dare not remove my sports bra, oh no no no). I look to the pile of clothing at my right where I've thrown my t-shirt and socks, as well as a hoodie I had been wearing. Damn, I am as unlucky as hell right now.

"You know you can still get away with wearing your sweatpants and you won't have to strip down to just your undies," Jinora states, winking at me. "You just have to tell us what happened the other night, and we'll let you off the hook."

I grit my teeth and narrow my eyes at her again. "You wish, you little noob."

Meelo giggles and stares at me, wide-eyed. "Did you just call Jinora a boob?"

"No!" I sigh, nudging him with my shoulder and he falls over on his side, still clutching his cards to his chest. "I called her a _noob - NOOB,_ with a 'n', you dork."

"Ohhhhh…" Meelo sits back up and fixes his eyes to the cards again. "Noob… Gotcha."

I sigh mentally and shake my head, grinning as I smile at Meelo. Man, this is going to be a _long_ night.

"I'm not about to give up so easily, you know," I sit up straighter and take a deep breath. "I'm gonna make a comeback, and you all are gonna get your butts whipped by this lil' hottie here," I smile smugly and stick my thumb to my chest while Jinora, Ikki and Meelo just stare.

And then they burst out into laughter.

"Hey, what's so funny?!" I say, but I'm sure they can't even hear me over their crazy annoying snorting or maybe they just don't want to hear me. Because they're ignoring me instead.

"You've really got some mental issues, Korra," Jinora wheezes out between laughs, and I pout. I really shouldn't let little kids treat me like this, I know. This is self-humiliation in the lowest form. "You _will_ lose, and that's not an option."

A few minutes later after the three Stooges have finally stopped heckling me I'm sitting there with all of them staring at me intently, and suddenly I feel very small and insecure. Like a little bug about to be squashed (actually, I think I may have been already... I just didn't want to admit it to myself then).

I meet Meelo's icy stare and he raises a thick eyebrow, his two sisters nodding in agreement. "Do it!"

I'm about to stand up and reluctantly shed my super comfy sweatpants when I hear a muffled chiming of bells echo from downstairs for a brief second.

"Oh hey, whaddya know?" My fingers are on the edge of my sweats, and I quickly tease the pants back upwards so that they rest along my hips once again. "That's gotta be the pizza," I say, and Meelo and Ikki quickly jump up from the floor at the mention of the Italian food, their cards fleeting across the wood like mini flying carpets.

"PIZZAAAAAA!" Meelo roars, hurtling himself down the stairs. Ikki follows him, but instead of throwing herself down the stairs like some kind of human bowling ball she does some quirky ballerina pirouettes and crap.

I reach for my t-shirt and smile to myself as Jinora stands up, gently resting her cards back down on the floor.

"We're not done with this, you know," she walks past me and out the door, where she waits for a moment as I pull the shirt over my head and follow after her. "You lost, and we're going to talk about what happened over the pizza."

"Yeah, yeah…" I wave her off and clumsily thump down the stairs after her. "Whatever. I just want to eat some pizza right now."

When we get to the bottom of the stairs we find Meelo and Ikki have already opened up the door and are staring at some kid holding a few boxes of pizza. He looks fairly young, and I shrug. Honestly I don't care how old he is unless he's feeding me.

"Oh hey, it's you again," Meelo says to the boy, who's looking at me expectantly.

The kid has tanned skin and a cute yet messy mop of dark brown hair, and he smiles awkwardly. "Uh, yes?"

"JINORA," Ikki steps in next to Meelo and places a hand on her nonexistent hips, another to the side of her mouth as she takes a deep breath and I get the feeling she's about to shout even though Jinora is standing right next to me.

I look to my side and do a double take, because Jinora isn't there anymore. What the heck? Where'd she go?

"YOUR BO-MMPPH!"

"Shhh - be quiet, Ikki!" Jinora has a hand over Ikki's mouth, and I really want to laugh at her little sister's baffled expression but I'm just really confused right now.

"Uh -" The boy looks kind of confused as well, and he quirks an eyebrow, turning his head to me. "Your pizza..?"

"Oh, uh, yeah," I quickly push Meelo, Ikki and Jinora aside and step forward, grabbing the pizzas from the kid's hands. "Let me go get some money. How much do I owe you?"

"Twenty-seven forty-two," he says, and I wince.

"Oooh… Can't believe we just spent almost thirty bucks on pizza…" I say as I turn around and head over to the kitchen, where I place the pizzas on the counter and start fiddling through one of the purses my mom leaves at home sometimes.

"It's all because you wanted stupid pineapple and ham!" Meelo shouts from his position out by the door, and I frown.

"Hey, don't badmouth pineapple and ham!" I shout back, smiling when I find a couple of twenties in one of the purse's side pockets. Hehe, this is more like it. I knew she kept some spare cash in here somewhere.

I walk back to the door, surprised to see that for some reason Jinora's face is bright red. I raise an eyebrow at Meelo when he sees me staring at her for a moment and he shrugs. O-kay. "Here you go." I hand the money over to the kid, and he quickly takes it. When he gives me back the rest of the cash since I overpaid, I give him back a five. "Here, you can keep this as a tip," I smile, and my mind struggles not to float back over to the delicious smell of pineapple and ham pizza wafting out of the kitchen and into my nose, calling me, beckoning me…

"Wow, thanks." He pockets the money and gives me a smile before turning his back and waving. "Have a good night."

"Thanks, you too," me and Meelo say at the same time, Ikki barely managing to mumble some kind of farewell through the hand over her mouth and Jinora remaining absolutely silent, as well as beetred.

I shut the door behind me as the kid walks off back down the sidewalk and to a car, which he hops into.

Jinora sighs and drops her hand from over Ikki's mouth, and the younger girl gasps for air overdramatically. "Phew…" Jinora whispers to herself, and Ikki slides her back down against the door until she's sitting on the floor, her knees pulled up to her chest.

"Geez, Jinny, you almost killed me! I was, like, suffocating, and your hand was, like, in my mouth-"

"Oh calm down," Jinora chuckles nervously, wrapping her arms around her shoulders and heading off to the kitchen. Meelo and I stand by Ikki, sharing matching curious glances.

"What was that all about?" I finally say, covering my mouth with one hand and pointing to Jinora in the kitchen with the other. We can see her from here; she's busy lifting one of the lids of the pizza boxes, trying to find the cheese one we ordered especially for her.

"Oh, Jinora's just got something for the pizza kid," Meelo states nonchalantly as he heads over to the kitchen, and I swear if I were a dog like Naga my ears would probably perk up right now.

"Wait - what? What'd you say? She's got something for the pizza kid?" I repeat, not believing my ears. Are they pulling my leg?

"Yeah, it's like she's got this crazy huge crush on him or something!" Ikki scrambles over to me as she jumps up off the floor. Her voice is an excited yet loud whisper, and I can tell she's trying to be as inconspicuous as she can so that Jinora doesn't give her crap like she did a few seconds ago, but it's not really working. Ikki and quiet do not go together.

Ikki grabs my sleeve and pulls me down to her level, and the two of us walk slowly over to the kitchen, Naga brushing past our legs as she emerges from whatever place she had been hiding at for the past half hour. "Jinora purposely orders pizza sometimes from that place because of the pizza boy," she smirks at me, and my eyes widen in astonishment.

Ah… So Jinora is human too? I feel like rubbing my hands together in delight. "Hmm… I see…" I feel my lips curl into a devious smile.

When Ikki and I reach the kitchen we find Jinora and Meelo chowing down on their slices of pizza, Meelo struggling to keep the cheese from being torn off in one clean layer from the top. Man, I hate it when that happens. But it basically proves the struggle is real.

"Took you long enough," Jinora says, biting into her cheese pizza again and chewing slowly.

"Uh, yeah, I was just talking to Ikki." I flip open the pizza lid of a box that's been set off to the side; my guess is it's the pineapple and ham that's been calling to me for a while now. "So, uh, Jin -" I grab a slice and slide along the side of the granite countertop to stop in front of Jinora, smiling smugly before biting into my own slice. "I hear someone's got a crush on the pizza boy." I wiggle my eyebrows at her and she coughs, trying not to choke on her pizza.

"Who - Who told you that?!"

Ah, see, her face is turning red again. Jinora brushes some brown hair behind her ear, which I can clearly tell is also turning a bit red. Well, at least the tips are.

"Ikki?" she turns her usually gentle gaze to Ikki, who smiles embarrassedly, pizza sauce smudged around her lips.

"Hehehe…" Ikki laughs, "Uh - sorry?"

Jinora doesn't say anything, only sinking down into her seat further and taking small nibbles from her pizza slice.

"Come on," I say. I'm directly in front of her, and I give her a friendly smile. "I wanna know what's up with little Jin and her uber-hot crush!" I prod her with my elbow, and if there wasn't a counter separating us, I would sling my arm around her neck playfully. "You want to know about me and Asami, right?"

Jinora raises her eyes at that, and I grin. Mhm, I've got her right where I want her now.

"W-Well, it's not anything major, really…"

Not anything major? Then how come your face is red as a tomato right now?

"Does he know you like him?" I take another bite of my food, my eyes still focused intently on Jinora.

"Not that I know of," she replies.

"But he probably thinks she's some kind of weirdo," Ikki butts in as she catapults into my side, a gooey pizza slice in each of her hands. "I mean, she's always calling for pizza, like, every week, and then even on the same day at the same time and then she always has to be the first one to the door-"

Jinora lunges across the counter at Ikki in an attempt to put an end to her babbling, but Ikki twirls away with another pirouette, laughing as she shoves one of the pizza slices into her mouth.

"Why you little…"

"Jin, Jin, calm down," I tell her, and Jinora's cheeks turn a shade darker while she pushes herself up from off the counter and eases herself back down into her chair.

"Yeah. Sorry about that." She looks down, and I look down too, both of our eyes landing on the triangle stuck to her chest. "..."

"Let me get that for you." Meelo walks over to his sister and gingerly reaches up, taking the slice between tentative fingers. "Here you go." He then places it carefully on the counter and walks away, continuing to eat his own slice.

Jinora stares at the slab of food on the counter, whatever expression on her face currently unreadable to me. "Uh, thanks…"

Anyhoo… Back to the situation at hand. I can't really believe that Jinora actually has a crush on someone; I mean, I've known her since she was basically wearing diapers, and this is the first time something like this has actually happened. It's a bit exciting and interesting, you know?

"Anyways -" I feel like prodding into Jinora's business a little more. "You should ask him out," I shrug. "The next time you order pizza, or whatever."

"Are you kidding me?" Jinora moans as she looks down at her mushed slice still resting on the counter. "That'd be weird. Plus, if I do recall correctly you're not really one to do so well with relationships either."

I sigh. Yeah, the only previous relationship I had didn't turn out so well. I mean, me and Mako are still friends and everything, but there's a kind of trust that we've lost with one another since that day when we broke up. Not that I care. "I guess you're right."

Jinora's eyes brighten for a moment, which really catches my attention after being shot down by her kinda harshly. "Still though - I'm glad that this relationship is working out for you." She smiles at me, and I know she's talking about me and Asami.

I don't even really know how they figured it out - I haven't told my parents, and I guess now Asami's dad knows about us, but I don't know exactly how he's handling it. And then there's these guys - I think it might have accidentally come to light when I was texting Asami back and forth earlier today, before the poker game and all that.

Ikki had sneakily peeked over my shoulder as we were watching some football earlier, and said something super annoying like 'Oooh, who'ya texting those googly eyes and heartsies to, Korra?'. And I just sat there on the couch, my mind completely blank and my face heating up, with a stupefied Meelo and Jinora staring back at me. I was probably trying to play it cool and shrug it off, because obviously I said the wrong answer: 'Oh - um, no one...', to which Ikki quickly replied 'It says ''Sami' on the top', and to which then Jinora started asking questions all rapid fire-like with me utterly confused and then one thing led to another, which was and is the only way we know how to settle trifling matters.

A game of strip poker.

And so here I am, and I'm pretty sure my secret's out.

"Uh, yeah, I guess you could say everything is going good…" I focus my attention on Meelo as he stands a ways off, waving a pizza slice in front of Naga's face. It's mostly because I don't want to face Jinora right now; I just know she's wearing a smug little grin and has a mischievous look in her eyes.

"When did it happen?"

"When did what happen?"

"You and her."

"Oh, um…" I cross my arms and straighten up, wedging another slice of pizza into my mouth with one hand. "Maybe about a week ago?"

"Have you kissed yet?" she taunts, leaning in on her elbows. Suddenly there's also another two pairs of eyes staring, one on each side of her, and I know this will probably be the death of me.

"K-Kissed?"

"Yes. _Kissed._ "

I can imagine Asami's bright green eyes right now, and the way her hair is so soft and silky and just how equally smooth her lips are and how nice it is to feel them on mine-

"Earth to Korra." Meelo's on the counter, waving his hand in front of my face.

I blink a few times. "Oh, um, yeah, we've kissed a… a couple of times, I guess."

The older of the three siblings raises an eyebrow at me. "Do your friends know?"

"Some of them."

"Do your parents know?"

"No…"

"Does God know?"

"Probably…"

"Does she smell like vanilla and chocolate and blooming meadow flowers on a nice spring day?"

"I-"

"How old is she?"

"She-"

"Can I marry her after you?"

"Wha-"

"What is that average velocity of her boo-"

"GUYS!" I yell, and the stupid pestering questions immediately stop. "I've only been dating her for around a week. I don't know a lot of stuff about -" I motion my hands through the air, gesticulating my confusion, "whatever you guys were talking about."

"Ikki was the one asking the dumb questions," Meelo shrugs, peeling a piece of ham off of one of my slices, and I snatch it away before he can steal any more.

"You were asking dumb questions too!" Ikki frowns and crosses her arms, and I just have to smile at them even if they're fighting. I can't help it; I think it's cute.

"Guys, I don't think this is something we really have to fight about…" I tell them, and Ikki and Meelo shoot each other quick glares before wandering off in their own respective directions around the kitchen.

I watch Jinora shake her head in what can only be slight disappointment at the behavior of her brother and sister, and then she chuckles, turning her gaze back to me. "I know I don't know Asami very well… I mean, I've only met her once…" Jinora studies my face as I grab another slice of pizza and begin shoving it into my mouth. "But I know she really cares about you."

I pull out what remains of the slice and give her a curious look. "Byou… Byou do?" God, I must sound really retarded right now, haha. But still; I'm curious as to why Jinora thinks that if she's admitting that even if she doesn't know Asami very well.

"Yeah. The other time when she was here she seemed really concerned about you. You know, since you were acting a bit skittish when we mentioned your previous relationship."

"Oh…" I rest my elbows down on the cool granite countertop, mulling over Jinora's observation. After a moment I swallow. "I guess you're right."

Jinora doesn't seem too convinced with my reply, and tilts her head in confusion. "You see it too, don't you?" Her brown eyes are penetrating, and I don't know what to say, or if what I say would be considered right.

Jinora frowns at me when I don't respond, and now she seems a bit worried. "She's a good girlfriend, isn't she?"

"Mhm." I nod, but I can't find the right words to say. Asami _is_ a good girlfriend. She's the best girlfriend (although she's the only one I've ever had). I just - I just don't know what to say, and I don't know why. Maybe it's because I've never been too open with my relationships. Heck, I don't even know if I told my parents Mako and I were going out when we were younger, now that I think about it. And now that it's Asami who I'm dating, I don't know how they're going to react. In fact, I don't know how anyone is going to react about this... Aside from the fact that we're both girls, I find myself still somewhat conflicted - Asami's way out of my league, I think.

So there it is. Me and Asami? It doesn't really seem real. _I_ wasn't even sure I believed it for a while. I guess that's why I'm kinda hesitant.

I'm brought out of my internal confliction when I feel a warm hand rest on my arm. "It's alright. You can tell me anything, Korra." Jinora smiles at me, and I feel my heart lift at her kind words.

I take a deep breath. I know Jinora's telling the truth; I've told her and Ikki and Meelo about things like this before: my relationship(s), my crushes, my troubles and worries, my hopes, all that stuff… And they're never once ratted out on me to anyone, not even their father, to whom I'm also close to (Tenzin's basically like a really good uncle to me). "I - I don't really know… I mean, I know Asami's a good girlfriend - she's sweet, and kind, and caring, and I know you understand that she cares about me."

"Then what is it?"

I think that Jinora's and my hushed tones have now attracted the attention of Ikki and Meelo, and the other two find themselves drawn back to the conversation. They've propped themselves up again on the stools beside Jinora, and I can also see the concern in their eyes as they watch me.

"I - I still feel like I'm not good enough for her," I mumble. "It kinda bothers me."

"Why do you feel like that?" Jinora inquires, her tone considerably softer than it was before.

I don't know whether I should chuckle or moan, but I just crack a grin and shrug. "Haven't you seen her?" I say, lifting a hand. "She's - She's perfect. She's literally the prettiest girl I've ever seen, she's like the nicest human being ever, she's incredibly popular, and on top of that she's famous."

I drop my hand and lay my head down on my arms, the cold granite pressing against my cheek. I'm pretty sure my pizza slice also just fell out of my hand, but I don't really care. I'll eat my feelings later after I get them all out. "And I'm just -" My voice is pretty quiet now, but I know Jinora and Ikki and Meelo can still hear me. "I'm just _me._ Just Korra."

"Is that why you've been trying to push her away in the past? Aside from your previous relationship failure, which I'm guessing wasn't the biggest worry you had in mind. It was what you just said right now," Jinora tells me, although I don't lift my head. I keep it against my arms, and only darkness envelopes my vision. "You felt inadequate, didn't you?"

"I still do." My words are muffled, and I don't know why but my chest has suddenly started to feel a bit tight. "I - I love her, but I don't think I'm supposed to be together with her, in a way. It's just - just hard for me to believe that I'm actually _with_ her."

"Don't say that, Korra," I hear Ikki say, "I'm sure Asami loves you too, even though you're feeling bad about yourself."

I lift up my head and manage a smile. "Thanks, Ikki."

"Yeah!" Meelo chimes in, and I chuckle. "Asami's waaaay too perfect, so it's not like anyone can compare to her anywa-"

Jinora quickly clamps a hand down over Meelo's mouth, and I can't help but actually laugh. "Don't listen to Meelo," Jinora shakes her head. "He's just jealous that you're going out with Asami and he's not."

Meelo raises a fist into the air, along with a slice of pizza, and some of the sauce gloops down over his hands and falls onto Jinora. She immediately recoils, wiping her arm on Meelo's shirt. "I _will_ marry her, just you watch!"

"Yeah yeah, whatever you say," Ikki waves her hand at him, and he scowls at her before jumping off the counter.

"Who's ready for another round of poker?" Meelo fist pumps as he scampers away from his sisters, and I chuckle. "If I win then I get a piece of Asami's hair!"

"Why would you want that?" Ikki retorts, walking over to Meelo.

"Have you seen my head?" Meelo points to his shaven head rather vigorously. "Dad won't let me grow out my hair, so obviously I need some, and Asami has really nice hair."

"Ohhhh…" Ikki's hand is under her chin, and she nods as she watches Meelo begin to explain his strategy to win in the next round of poker. "Yeah, I see what you mean."

"Come on," Jinora grabs the rest of the boxes off the counter, and I follow after her as we begin heading up the stairs behind Ikki and Meelo.

Ikki and Meelo reach the room first in a bustling flurry, colliding with the floor to see who can get to their cards first. I'm about to walk into the room too but then Jinora stops, and I have to push my hands against the doorframe to keep from falling on top of her.

"You know Korra, you can tell us anything, I promise." She smiles, the pizza boxes stacked one on top of the other as she holds them up against her chest horizontally.

I bring my arms back down to my sides and smile at her before giving her another one of my signature grins (well, at least I like to think they're signature). "Thanks, Jin."

And then I lean in, wrapping my arms around her neck and pulling her close to me. I'm sure she's probably really surprised at my sudden display of affection, but I don't care. She's always there for me, as are Ikki and Meelo, and it really means a lot to me. "Thank you for always being here for me." I pull away after a moment, and Jinora has a small blush on her cheeks that I find really cute. "I promise I'll always be there for you too, okay?"

"I know." She gives me a large smile, and turns to head back into the room to join Ikki and Meelo.

"I'll help you out too with that uber-big crush you got on the pizza kid too, so don't you worry your pretty little mind!" I say, taking my seat beside Meelo again and grinning widely at a now heavily blushing Jinora.

"Hey! I-It's not that big of a deal, okay?"

"Obviously it is if you're this worked up about it," I say as I pick up my cards. "You help me with Asami, and I'll help you with pizza kid."

Jinora heaves a sigh and rolls her eyes, but I know she appreciates my whole-hearted dedication to the matter. "Whatever."

"I mean it."

"So do I."

"Then it's on."

Jinora's eyes have their usual fire rekindled, and she fans her cards out in an expert manner. I honestly don't even know how they got this good at playing poker. "Oh, it's _definitely_ on."

* * *

 **long time no see, everyone (okay, not really, haha). xD anyways, thanks to everyone who reviewed for the last chapter; i really appreciate getting your reviews - seeing how much people are enjoying the story is definitely something that i like to hear.**

 **this was more of a light-hearted, funny chapter, so i hope you enjoyed it! and a big thanks to all who faved/followed, and hopefully i'll hear from you again soon! until next week. ;D**


	15. Chapter 15

**When in Doubt**

It's a bit chillier than usual today. I tug my hoodie closer to me and clutch the sides of my arms, breathing out a long puff of warm air into the autumn atmosphere.

"You never told me about how you infiltrated that restaurant," I say, another puff of warm air trailing away as I speak.

Opal gives a short haughty laugh. "Didn't you know Bo's grandma owns a restaurant? She let me and him serve you dinner that night."

I blink and keep on walking. Bo's grandma owns a restaurant? Yeah, I don't remember him telling me that. Or actually he could have, it's just that I'm never listening sometimes. I don't know why, but it's pretty easy for me to zone out easily. Sorry Bo. Next time I'll listen to you for sure.

"Nah, I don't remember him telling me that," I stop at the corner of the Starbucks located on our school's campus, allowing the heavenly scent of warm beverages to fill my nose. "Hey," I jab a thumb in the direction of the shop's door. "Can I get a hot chocolate or something? I'm literally going to freeze my butt off if I don't warm up."

"You don't even have a butt," Opal mutters as I open the door and walk in, me scowling at her rude remark.

"Don't sass me, child." I get in line, and soon I have a nice, steaming cup of hot chocolate in my grasp. I smile to myself and do a little dance while Opal rolls her eyes.

"You literally look like a little leprechaun doing some kind of Irish jig," Opal says over her shoulder as we walk back out the door and return to the freezing sub-arctic temperatures of the early fall morning.

"I'm just happy I got some hot chocolate, is all," I take a sip of my drink and sigh. Ah… Such bliss. I meet Opal's staring olive eyes and grin, the cup's plastic lid pressed lightly to my lips. "What?"

"I've been noticing something different about you ever since Asami showed up," she smiles, and I snort.

"What are you talking about? This isn't the same conversation we had at the cafe when we met up for breakfast, is it?"

Opal takes a lock of her short brown hair in one hand and begins to twirl it around her finger as we walk. Her eyes are set somewhere off into the distance and she's got this curious look on her face, one that seems like she's teasing me. "Oh, not at all. It's just that you seem different - _happier._ "

"That's a good thing then, isn't it?"

"Of course it is!" Opal laughs. "And to think that you of all people got with her in like, a week!" Opal shakes her head in mock-astonishment. "Wow, you have to have some sort of secret. I mean, you don't get a super hot stunt driver to fall for you that fast - I've heard she's gone through a few other people too."

I'm suddenly a bit worried as to what Opal could possible mean. "W-What do you mean?" I bring the drink closer to my chest and my eyes fall to the ground.

"Well, you know, many famous people go through a lot of short-lived relationships." She raises a hand and shrugs nonchalantly, like she's explaining to me a math problem she would teach to some first grader. "I've read a couple of times about Asami in magazines, but it's not like those major scandals you hear about."

I don't know what to say. Whether I should be fretting over this or relieved to hear her past relationships weren't major scandals, I have no idea.

I feel Opal's surprisingly warm hand on my shoulder, and I'm met by my friend's also surprisingly warm smile. "I don't want to worry you, Korrie. I'm just saying that you've got quite the catch, is all." Opal pauses for a bit as a slow smile spreads across my face at her words. "You deserve someone like her, and I think she deserves someone like you."

"Thanks, Ope."

"No problem." Opal's hand drops and we continue walking in comfortable silence, until I speak up again.

"You know, Jin and the kids told me the same thing the other night," I chuckle, feeling a bit bashful.

"They told you Asami was an incredibly hot lady you've somehow got all to yourself?"

"Well, yes - I mean no - I mean, Meelo kinda did - but it was mostly about how they thought that she was someone that I deserved, and that they were glad we were together."

"See!" Opal bumps me with her shoulder and I flinch, hoping my hot chocolate doesn't somehow jump out of the lid and spill all over me. "Told'ya that you were lucky!"

I chuckle and wave Opal away. "Yeah, whatevs. Shouldn't we be hurrying to our class anyways?" I place a finger to my chin. "I think we only have, like, a few minutes until class starts…"

"Oh crap!" Opal quickly pulls out her phone from her back pocket, cringing. "You're right - okay, I'm going mach-speed! See ya there, Korra!" And then all of a sudden she's got her arms pumping and she's sprinting off down the sidewalk at the speed of light, and I'm left stranded in her dust.

"You dope! You're supposed to wait for me!" I begin after her, running with the hot chocolate off to the side so that it doesn't spill all over me. "Or at least slow down, you butthole!" I don't manage to catch up to her, but I'm at least not as far behind as I was before. You gotta call that talent; I'm not spilling my cocoa (not too much, at least), and I'm running at a considerably fast pace that would make any grandma jealous.

We get to class relatively soon, although I have to say that I'm a bit out of breath.

Panting somewhat heavily (more due to the fact that I'm relieved I'm not tardy) I slide into my seat with a sigh, carefully setting what remains of my hot chocolate on the desk. Opal has already taken the liberty to sit down since she managed to arrive a few seconds earlier than I have.

"Thanks for waiting for me," I mutter under my breath, and I see a smirk etch it's way across her face.

I look toward the front of the class where the professor begins the lecture, and I relax into my chair. Barely making it to class on time is something that doesn't happen too often to Opal and I, but then I guess again there has been that recent instance when Asami and I have ditched. It was just once, but who knows - I don't think I'd mind ditching with her a few more times.

Class lasts a few hours, and once it's over I hastily pack up my things and scamper out of the classroom. Opal takes her time gathering her stuff, but I really don't like spending too much time doing things that hurt my brain. I wait by the door as the rest of the class files out slowly, and I can't help but wonder if everyone is still half-asleep or something.

"Yo." Opal flashes a gang symbol to her chest for a brief moment and sides up next to me. "Glad class is over, huh?"

I toss my empty cocoa cup into the trash and wedge my hands into my pockets. "Yeah, am I ever."

"Hey, watch out -" Opal tries grabbing my arm to pull me aside, but it's too late - someone roughly shoves me and I stumble forward.

"Yeah, you better listen to your friend." It's Tahno, one of the guys from our class. He's a tall, skinny dude with sleek black hair that comes down into a wavy curl in the front, and even though he doesn't sound too scary, he's actually a bit intimidating.

"Oh yeah? Well, I think you better watch where you're going," I snarl back, planting my stance firmly beside Opal.

Tahno's got a few of his buddies with him, but they don't scare me. I bet I could take them. Okay, well, at least I'd _try_ to take them.

"I hear you've been hanging around Asami Sato?" he says, his ever-present evil grin widening. I swear, he could probably be the incarnation of the devil himself.

"So what's it to you?" Why the heck would he care, and how does he know that anyways? I can feel Opal tentatively wrapping her hand around my arm as I sneer at Tahno, but I don't pay attention to her cautious nature. This guy needs to mind his own business.

"Little losers like you don't deserve to hang around big shots like her." From what I hear, Tahno's also from a somewhat wealthy background, so I don't really know why he attends college here. I know Asami attends here because she wants to be more 'normal', but Tahno is another story. My guess? He's trying to start some kind of third-party Nazi group by scouting for similarly-minded evil minions.

Tahno takes a step forward, and I meet his cold gaze.

"I don't have to listen to you," I growl, and Tahno smiles.

"Maybe you don't," he straightens up, his sinister smile still remaining. "but I'd hate for something bad to have to happen to you."

What..?

"Oh, wait…" Tahno begins walking away, and gives a wave for his buddies to follow him. "Actually, I don't think I'd mind at all." He chuckles, and I clench my fists tight against my sides as I watch them retreat down the hall and out of the building.

"Those freakin' weirdos…" Opal's hand slides down my arm and around my tightened fist, and I bristle at her touch against my skin as her fingers meet the back of my hand.

"You're telling me…" She looks just as bothered as I am, although she tends to remain more controlled than I do in most cases. "What's wrong with that jerk? I mean, he shouldn't be prying into your business; it's _so_ not polite."

"Tahno's just not polite in general," I roll my eyes and Opal nods in agreement. "What did I ever do to get on his bad side, Ope?" I ask her, sighing.

Everyone's already left the classroom, and now it's just Opal and I standing a few feet away from the door. I wave my hand over my shoulder and gesture for us to leave.

"I don't know; honestly, I don't think you've done anything to him."

"Right?" I say. I open the door and we exit, the cold wind biting at our cheeks and every square inch of bare skin it can possibly reach. "And I wonder what he meant by 'he wouldn't want to see me get hurt', or whatever it was the crap he said."

"I wouldn't worry too much about it, Korra." Opal gives me a small smile, but I can tell that she's a bit worried herself. There's this wavering look in her green eyes that I've seen before; it's doubt. It's rarely there though; Opal is almost always positive - she's so warm and upbeat that it's hard for her to be brought down by anything. But there are those times when something's bothering her, or when she's concerned about something, and I can clearly tell. It's that look in her eyes she has right now.

"But promise me you'll be careful, alright?" she adds in a voice softer than before. I know she _is_ worried about me, even though she'll probably deny it if I asked her. "I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

My blue eyes meet Opal's olive ones, and I try to crack a grin. "Hey, I'm always careful, aren't I?" I chuckle, trying to add a bit of humor.

Opal just smiles and shakes her head. "I don't know about that, haha."

We're outside in the frozen air again. This past class was the only one Opal and I share together, so now we're going to be headed our separate ways soon until we meet up again later for swim. I look down at my boots as we walk, thinking over the thought. Yeah, I wouldn't exactly say I'm the more careful person around, being very impulsive and all that… But I think with my personality, it kind of helps being involved with athletics; I can use up all that crazy energy I have.

"The tournament is happening later on this week, isn't it?" I question, although I'm not really asking anyone in particular. I know it's happening this weekend, but I just thought I'd bring the thought up. Opal and I haven't seen each other since I picked up my car at her place the evening after the restaurant date.

"Yeah, it is," Opal nods her head and I crack a grin. She looks over to me, and there's a renewed fervor to her eyes that I've learned to label as excitement. "Are you ready for it?"

"I think so. I mean, we've both been practicing really hard, and I've done swim for a long time, so I don't think it's something that I should be too worried about."

"But this time it's against some of the top colleges!" Opal wiggles her eyebrows at me; for what reason, I have no idea, but it makes me laugh nonetheless.

I hike up my backpack a few inches higher, closing my hands around the straps tightly. "Heck, I'm not scared!" I proudly announce, and now it's Opal's turn to chuckle. "I bet we could win any old school!" I wrap my arm around her shoulder and she gives me a curious but playful look, and I spread my arm out before us, trying to make things a little more dramatic. "With you and me on the same team, I'm sure nothing would be able to stop us - we're the dynamic duo, remember?"

Opal rolls her eyes and sighs, but I know she's totally enjoying this. "Oh, so _now_ we're the dynamic duo? I thought I was that really annoying 'dope' that you had to make sure didn't steal your clothes anymore."

"Oh yeah -" I say, suddenly remembering the incident that happened not too long ago. "You're still a dope though."

My friend laughs as she heaves off my arm from around her shoulders, and we joke around for a few more minutes before we head off to our next classes.

"See you at swim!" Opal waves, and soon she's just a speck in the distance. A little green dot, bouncing away while I stand behind, a sad smile on my face.

Man, what am I supposed to do now that Opal's gone off to class? I don't have anyone to tease for the whole entire hour that I have to wait for my next class to start. Ugh, this sucks.

There's a couple of minutes of me standing awkwardly in the middle of the path, mulling over the fact that Ope's gone and I won't have company for a bit. I should probably do something productive; that's what my mom would say. But then again, when am I ever productive?

I decide to make my way over to one of the quieter areas on campus for the remainder of my time before school starts. Maybe I could do… something… productive? _Maybe._ I mean, it's worth a shot. Maybe I'll be so bored out of my brain that I might be able to dedicate it to something meaningful for once.

I find a nice spot where there's a few picnic tables beneath the overhanging of a building and sit down, throwing my backpack on top of the table sloppily. I sigh and cross my arms over my bag, just resting my head there for a while as I take in the scenery. Few people are walking by, but something comes to my attention after a while.

A few people have actually been _staring_ at me. Well, at least I think they are. It's strange though; I don't normally talk to anyone at school, and people don't usually talk to me. Or really pay attention to me, in general.

But then there it is again.

Those hasty glances and those lingering gazes… Am I just being a bit paranoid after what Tahno said?

I find myself unable to concentrate due to the minimal yet odd array of stares (well, like I said, I _think_ they're stares - I could just be imagining things), and I spend the rest of my hour with my math book open, though my eyes can't seem to remain on the pages, and my thoughts can't seem to dwell on the upcoming subject.

When there's only a few minutes left until class starts I speedily pack up my belongings, and swinging a strap over my shoulder I relieve myself by hurrying off to my next class.

* * *

Opal and I meet at our usual place for swim, by the entrance to the girls' locker room.

She slaps me on the back playfully. " _Are you ready to get wet?!_ " she says pretty loudly, and a few other girls from our team give us curious glances as they walk by and begin giggling.

"Jesus, Ope," I whisper to her through gritted teeth. She's got this knowing look on her face, as well as an almighty smirk. "That sounded kind of dirty. Don't you ever think about what comes out of your mouth before you say it?"

Opal's eyes widen as she tries to look shocked. "What? I'm being serious!"

"And so am I!" I push past her and head on into the locker room, Opal following in after me as she babbles about something ridiculous.

I get my swimsuit on in relatively record time (sometimes I try to see how fast I can get changed, just to, y'know, challenge myself), and as soon as I step out of the locker room and into the pool area I immediately feel the tiny hairs on my body raise.

"Damn it's cold." My teeth are literally chattering themselves away. I wouldn't be surprised if they were filed down to a centimeter or two after practice.

Opal's right next to me, bouncing on her toes with some kind of boisterous, incredibly overpowering (too overpowering, in my opinion) bundle of kinetic energy. I don't really have any idea what kinetic energy is since it's been a while since I've taken physics, but it's probably what she's got right now. Probably.

"Heck, it's gonna be even colder when we get in the water!" She shoves me with her elbow and grins, but I just frown at her and wrap my arms around my biceps. "Oh yeah -" She does a few arms stretches as she looks on over the pool, our teammates beside us chatting away since practice will be starting pretty soon. "I'm _totally_ ready to swim." Opal does some random jumping jacks before placing her hands on her hips. "I'm gonna be BEAST at the tournament - heck yeah!"

"Whatever you say, Twinkletoes," I smirk at her, even though I'm dreading getting into the water. I pull back my hair into a ponytail and wrap a hair band around to tie it into a wolf's tail, and then I try limbering up myself. I really need to get into the swimming spirit if I want to do well at the tournament.

I was right; the water is literally freezing cold, but it's also comforting - since I'm a swimmer, being in the water brings to me a kind of calming joy, if that makes any sense. It's like a place where I feel comfortable with who I am, and know exactly how to function.

About halfway through practice Opal and I are standing in a huddle with the rest of the team while our coach talks to us about what's going to be happening later on in the week for the tournament, and I feel her nudge me in the ribs with her elbow.

"Ow," I whisper, trying to look like I'm in pain.

"Hey. Your secret admirer is back," she smirks, nodding in the direction of the bleachers.

I quickly whip my head to the bleachers and smile, seeing that Asami's there. She sees me and gives a shy wave, and I feel my face heat up a bit. I smile back before turning around to bring my attention back to the team huddle.

Oh god, now that Asami's here I really want to get done with practice… Oh well, I guess I'll just have to plow through it and endure. I can do this. I like swimming, after all.

Although it did seem like the second half of practice was infinitely longer than the first (which I'm sure was just me because Opal looked totally fine swimming in 50 degree weather), the latter part ended as well. After the team is done with final announcements and all that Opal and I head off to the locker rooms together, and again (yes, how many times do you have to bust me in the ribs when you want my attention, woman?) the dope shoves me in the side.

"You gonna go see Asami?"

I shrug. "Yeah, why not? She's waited for me while we were doing swim, so I think it's only fair that I give her what she wants," I say, adding a wink, and Opal bursts out laughing as she grabs her sides and doubles over.

Seriously? Why does everyone laugh when I say something about myself?

"BWAHAHAHAHAHA!" Opal manages between gasps for air, "Korra - HAHAHA - you're too - HAHAHA - funny -"

"Whatever. I'm just gonna leave, since you seem so set on laughing your butt off at me." I leave Opal to die from laughter and head off to take a quick shower, afterwards quickly putting my street clothes back on.

Walking back outside into the fresh air I take a deep inhale. I can see Asami sitting off on one of the bottom rows of the bleachers, a thick book nestled in her hands and an intense look of concentration on her pretty face. I can't help but admire how focused she looks; now I really feel bad for not being able to sit still for ten minutes while I'm doing homework.

"Uh, hey Asami," I smile when I reach the bleachers, setting my sports bag and backpack down on the bottom row. "It was nice of you to come to my practice."

A kind smile graces her face, and she lowers her book as her green eyes meet my blue ones. "You don't have to keep thanking me," she giggles, "I like coming to watch you swim." After a moment she adds, "You always seem so confident and sure of yourself when you're in the water - I like that."

I blush at Asami's statement. She likes coming to watch me swim, huh? A sudden really good idea pops into my head and I feel like I could light a bulb with the amount of brainpower I have at the moment (which, my friends, is a rare occasion indeed). "Hey, um, you know…" I begin fiddling with the ends of my hair, which I've let down so that it can dry out. The tips are still wet, but I can barely register the cold sensation. "We're going to be starting that tournament I think I've mentioned to you before later on this week. If - If you'd like, you can come, you know, since you said you kinda like to watch me swim and all…"

Asami frowns. "Actually, there was something I wanted to tell you, Korra." She pats the cool aluminum beside her.

I raise an eyebrow but comply, and I carefully make my way to her and take a seat, leaving my bag down on the first row. I fold my hands in my lap and look up at Asami as she nervously brushes a strand of hair behind her ear. "So, um, what did you want to tell me?"

"Well, it's about this weekend."

"Yeah?"

"There's a meeting for Future Industries that my dad wants me to attend… He says it'd mean a lot to the company if I went. I just found out a little while ago."

"Oh…" I find it hard to maintain eye contact with Asami. "So that means you probably won't…"

"I'm sorry."

I know Asami is sad. I can hear it in her voice.

She tries managing a small smile. "I really wish I could come and watch you, but I don't think I'll be able to. I hope you can forgive me."

I shrug my shoulders. "Nah, it's alright Asami." I can't let her see that I'm kind of disheartened at her announcement, but I'm sure that a Future Industries meeting is way more important than a swim tournament. And aside from that, Asami's job is maintaining that role she's got being a stunt driver for her father's company. It makes sense if they needed her there, whether it be for advertisement or propaganda or what.

I gingerly grab her hand and give it a light squeeze, attempting a smile. "I understand. You have things you need to do."

Asami's cherry red lips lean closer to me, meeting my cheek gently. "Thank you, Korra."

I know I'm blushing now for sure, and I hope that the remainder of the team has already made their way home. Still, I have the feeling Opal may be lurking around here somewhere…

"No problem, haha," I'm glad that Asami seems a bit happier now, and seeing her smile makes my heart lift too. "Is that all you wanted to tell me?"

"Of course not," she laughs, and she picks up her book with her free hand and stuffs it into her satchel. "I wanted to ask you if you wanted to hang out." The devious girl winks at me, sending a chill crawling up my spine. "We haven't had a study night in a while, and I get the feeling you probably need some help."

If Opal's ratting on me again I'm definitely going to have to do something about that.

"As a matter of fact, I _have_ been having a bit of trouble in my math class…" I say as Asami gets up and slings her bag over her shoulder, stepping down the remaining rows to the bottom.

"Great," she smiles, and I realize that she's doing so much for me already I shouldn't feel so downhearted if she can't make it to my tournament. She's trying so hard already to help me with a bunch of other things, all I can feel at the moment is grateful for this girl that I've fallen in love with.

Asami begins telling me about her day as we head over to the parking lot, and I can't help but laugh at all the hilarious antics and things she's describing.

Yeah, I think Opal was right: being with Asami _has_ made me happier.

* * *

 **i hope this chapter wasn't too boring... xD the title was something i thought would wrap up all the little thoughts going through korra's head pretty well, and her worries are what i wanted to investigate some in this chapter before things started heating up with the tournament and asami's future industries meeting.**

 **anyways, thank you all for reading, and thank you to those who managed to leave a review the last chapter! i hope you all have a wonderful christmas, and i'll see you next time - so make sure you stick around until then. ;)**


	16. Chapter 16

**hello everyone - happy new year! :D i know it's not the 1st, goshdarnit i would have updated then if i could, but i've been working the last few days so i guess it couldn't be helped. hopefully you're all doing well, and make sure you stick to those new year's resolutions if you made any! xD**

* * *

 **Night Changes**

" _The meeting starts at 8 o'clock. Make sure you're not late."_

That's what my dad told me earlier this morning before I headed off to school. I wasn't surprised to find him sitting at his usual spot at the table in the kitchen, sifting through the pages of a newspaper. He didn't even look up at me as he spoke, and I know that's because he doesn't just _expect_ me to be there. It's not really a choice that I have, since I've been born into the Sato family. In all reality, it's more of a you _have_ to be there.

Maybe if I still had my mom here things would be different, but then again there's nothing either of us can do about that.

It's later in the evening, and right now I'm sure Korra's getting ready for her tournament. Maybe they're warming up or something. I told her that I really wish I could have been there, and she said that she really wished that I could be there too. It's just that things happen sometimes, and you've gotta do what you've gotta do. Maybe I'll be able to make it to her next tournament; I'm sure the games will drag on for a while. Perhaps next week?

When I got home from school a dress was already set out for me on my bed. It was something I've never seen before, this being the first time I've actually laid eyes on the piece. I picked it up carefully, turning it before me to get the gist of the attire I would be wearing that evening; it was a long black dress with a low front, and the back was equally as revealing. Not something I wouldn't mind wearing, but I couldn't help but frown at my dad's persistence for me to attend and make a stunning entrance.

In the Sato family, a meeting is usually of sorts another way to say a party. My dad hosts them all the time, but they're held for reasons other than to entertain. I've been to many, a countless number that even I can't recall - all I know is that I've been attending them my whole life, so I'm very used to the idea. The meetings are fascinating get-togethers for many; other famous people, our business partners, and people who may be interested in joining the company or becoming involved. And like I said before, they're also the perfect place to advertise.

Recently though I've been having second thoughts about attending these meetings. It's been normal for me to go to help publicize new products, or even just to inform people about what we may be working on or planning to develop. On rare occasions my father lets me help design and build some of our products, and that always makes me happy. But I've been getting increasingly frustrated with his plots - it seems as though every time I attend a meeting, there's always someone he wants me to meet. It's usually a wealthy young man, most of them considered extremely attractive by the public's standards, and at the end of the night I have to approach my dad and tell him that I have no interest in his choice of suitors.

I don't want my heart to break anymore, but he just doesn't seem to understand that.

And I know that I've finally come out to him recently about what I think, about why I don't want him pushing me in his direction of ideal romantics anymore - because when love is something slapstick and simple, it never works out. Ever.

The evening wind bites at my bare shoulders as I make my way out of the mansion and towards my convertible. Earlier this morning I made sure to raise the convertible's leather roof; on a long ride into the heart of one of the world's major cities, it's bound to get cold, especially around this time of year.

On my father's behalf and from previous times I know it's wise to leave early in order to reach the destination on time, and I carefully drop myself down into the driver's seat and start the engine. I dare not leave with my father. Even though I know we don't spend nearly as much time together as I would like, I've started to realize that I think that even if we did our relationship would remain the same. We can't change who we are, but we can change what we do, and that's all I want from my dad.

Traffic is relatively slow tonight, and I'm glad that I've decided to leave with enough time to get to the meeting without being too late. There's a long line of cars strung out in front of my own, and I anxiously tap my fingers on the steering wheel's leather to the tune of an oldie careening out of the stereo. My phone's laid in the center of the car, in one of the little cup holders, and I eye it for a moment. It must have been at the right time because the screen lights up and I see I've got a text message, and from someone I miss very dearly.

 **Korra:** _hey. good luck tonight. on whatever it is, idk. but have fun anyways, haha. xD_

I smile and chuckle to myself. Korra's way to cute for her own good.

Since the traffic is moving at the pace of an obese snail I decide to shoot her back a reply. I'm guessing there might have been some kind of accident or something; it is a Friday night after all, and it would make sense for people to be rushing to get home and unintentionally cause a collision. I can only hope that whatever has happened isn't too serious.

 **Me:** _thank you, korra. good luck too, on your tournament! i really wish i could be there, but for now i'll just have to send you my love. i know you'll do great. ;) xoxo_

The hugs and kisses aren't something that I usually do, but I just thought it'd be nice since I won't be able to watch her tonight. Oh, and the teasing is also something I just added to give her a little power boost, hehe.

I don't get a reply from Korra, so I assume she sent the text before she got enveloped in the start of the tournament. I continue staring absentmindedly ahead when I hear a car honk from behind me, and it is only then that I realize we're moving again.

Tonight the meeting will be held in the city's Convention Center, and I can already tell it's going to be one of the bigger meetings I've been to - the streets are packed, and formally dressed people decorate the sidewalks even far from the center itself. Maybe parking might be a bit of an issue for some, but being the daughter of Hiroshi Sato my father's employees always make sure to leave a parking space reserved for me near the meeting area. Tonight I was told mine would be not too far from the gigantic building, residing on the side, near my father's limousine.

I approach the building slowly due to the buildup of attendees being dropped off at the sidewalks and having their rides being hauled away by their respective chauffeurs, and after giving a sheepish wave to one of the guards near the entrance he immediately directs me to the spot where I would park.

The lot on the side is somewhat dark, but I silently appreciate the the inky blackness of the night. It makes me feel separate, isolated from all the commotion and invasion of personal space I know is about to start, and I try to take in as much as I can, closing my eyes and inhaling deeply.

When I open my eyes again I turn to my phone and press the home button, watching as the screen lights up and posts three numbers - 7:47. It will probably take me at least fifteen minutes to find my way inside, since I've never been to this meeting location before. It would be best to get a move on so that my father doesn't scold me in public (which I've actually had happen a few times before when I was younger, although he laughed about it after, much to my disapproval on his erraticness of the matter).

As I near the center I'm bombarded by a group of paparazzi, and I try to turn away from the flashing lights and intruding questions. I do the best I can to resist them politely, and after a few minutes of their pestering I am rescued (thank god) by one of my father's body guards who was sent to look for me.

The large man takes me by the elbow and I let him drag me through the reporters without struggle, and the last words that I hear from the group being blocked off behind me are "Can you tell us about your relationship?".

The meaty hands around my shoulders guide me through the remaining crowd scattered before the entrance, and I frown, contemplating the last sentence I had previously heard. Maybe I had heard wrong, or maybe they had gotten me into some kind of mix-up by starting a rumor. It happens sometimes.

But then through the flashing camera lights and deafening voices I can imagine Korra, her lively blue eyes staring back at me and her childishly innocent grin. It couldn't have been Korra they were talking about, could it? I don't have any idea of how any of them would know about the two of us, other than my father disclosing that information to the media. It doesn't sound like a plausible answer though, because after the talk with my father earlier this week he hasn't mentioned anything about Korra and I since. I figured he wanted to keep it secret, although the prospect of it saddened me at the moment.

The journey through the crowd goes by in a sequence of blur-like moments, and after passing through the security at the front I've entered into the main hall. Yes, this does indeed look like many of the previous meetings held; there's new Future Industries products stationed almost everywhere you turn, people are chatting away aimlessly, and there's an extravagant array of food on tables gliding through the gigantic hall.

I don't know whether to approach my father or not, but I decide it might be wise that he at least see me so he doesn't think I was late. I manage to catch a glimpse of him standing next to one of the Sato Mobiles I've helped him develop earlier this year; the engine was my own design, and I'm very proud of it. My father seems to be proud of the invention too, gesticulating excitedly as he points out certain parts of the vehicle. The crowd in front of him nods their heads in what I think is astonishment, and I can't help a small smile from creeping onto my face. My father sees me as I begin approaching, and our eyes meet. He gives me a small wave and an acknowledging nod before continuing his soliloquy, and I take that as a gesture for him to approach me later when the majority of the excitement dies off some.

Feeling myself suddenly fixing for a drink I head over to the refreshments. I pick up a glass and hold it under the fountain overflowing with champagne. I have a high tolerance for alcohol, and I know that I'm still a little underage, but when you're at parties like this it's taboo not to have at least one drink (let's also keep in mind that I've been introduced to wine and it's relatives at a semi-young age).

After the fizzy fluid has reached a level at what I consider to be enough, I pull my glass away and head off to the side where a small table adorned with flowers stands. I'd rather not get too into the party at the moment - I know my father will come over to me sooner or later to introduce someone to me or vice versa, or even to have me explain a few of the products we've been working on recently. It seems that more people tend to listen to us when I'm around my father; I've considered the idea a few times, and all I can think of is that combined we form a sort of mutually interested in mechanics/tech highly intellectual duo. What can I say? If there's anything my father and I have in common, it's that.

I precariously take a sip from my glass before swirling the liquid around a bit, hoping that I won't be swarmed by an overwhelming amount of business partners or admirers too soon into the night. When I raise my eyes I see a hand waving to me from the crowd, and a familiar figure dressed in blue quickly approaching.

"Asami, my darling!"

I grin, slowly placing my drink down onto the table and trying to advance some, but certainly not quick enough. The figure is already full-on in front of me, and sooner than I realize it I'm completely engulfed in a warm embrace. The smile on my face is no match for the one even wider on the man in front of me.

"Varrick!"

A few seconds later after Varrick's done giving me a hug that felt what lasted like a millennium his subordinate Zhu Lee comes trotting over, and by the looks of it, a bit out of breath. I can only guess that he's been running around for the few minutes the party's lasted.

"Asami!" Varrick's smug grin is characteristically charming, and I find my interest in being here at the Convention Center raised considerably due to the thought of his night-long company. "How are you? It's been ages, hasn't it?"

"Haha, not really - maybe a few months?" I chuckle, and Varrick pats me on the back.

"Same thing, same thing!" comes Varrick's smooth reply. "You know, this is supposed to be one of the bigger meetings, I hear. Is that true? There's been rumors that quite a few things are going to be unveiled tonight," he says, winking at me.

"Well, you've probably heard right then," I gesture in front of me. "My father and the company, as well as I, have been working on many different products we plan on putting on the market relatively soon."

Varrick (his full name is Iknik Blackstone Varrick, but he prefers to go by just 'Varrick') is one of the business partners my father and I have decided to form a connection with a few years ago. Usually our relationships with business partners are strictly what they're called - _business -_ but with Varrick, things are different. He's got an incredibly dynamic disposition on everything, and his transactions and plans to increase his company earnings have skyrocketed over the past few years since our initial partnering. In other words, Varrick's company is almost as big as our own - and we're lucky to be on a friendly level with him. Also, from working with Varrick over the years, the two of us have grown to be close, and I'm glad for the friendship the two of us have that stretches past the bounds of money.

Varrick shakes his head and tsks a few times, but I know he doesn't mean it from the admiring look in his bright blue eyes. "Asami my dear… I do have to say that your design on the engine for the SM 400 is mighty ingenious indeed! I couldn't quite believe my ears when your father was addressing the basics of the design and operation - it's really incredible! You've gotta show me how you do it, kid," Varrick slaps me on the shoulder again, and I have to brace myself by holding onto the table this time in order not to topple over.

"Yeah…" I laugh, straightening up. "Maybe I could show you sometime, whenever you get the chance to come over to our new estate? I'm sure you'd love it; after all, you haven't even seen it yet."

Varrick's smile grows increasingly large, and he immediately reaches up to gently tug at the end of his mustache before nodding his agreement. "That sounds fantastic!" Turning to Zhu Li he puts on a much more serious face. "Zhu Li!"

"Yes?"

"Make sure you write down that I make an appointment to visit the Satos at their new estate sometime soon, okay?"

"Right," Zhu Li responds by jotting down a few things on one of their company's signature tablets, one of the more advanced that I've managed to hear quite a few good things about.

"Why hello Varrick."

Varrick, Zhu Li and I simultaneously look up to find my father approaching, and I mentally cringe. It looks like the fun wasn't going to last very long from the start - figures. My father stops beside me, and his presence is ladening.

Thankfully Varrick is more enthusiastic about my father's arrival than I am, and he gives him a little salute. "Hello, sir - it's wonderful to see you again." Varrick sticks out his hand, and the two exchange a familiarizing shake. "I was having the time of my life talking to your beautiful daughter here," Varrick winks, and I just scrunch my eyes up at him, sticking out my tongue playfully.

My father laughs. "Good, good… I'm glad you're having a great time. I saw you three over here chatting it up, and I thought it would be best to say hello again after not seeing you for a few months. The last time we spoke must have been at the last meeting, wasn't it?" My dad raises an eyebrow curiously, and I feel like sighing. I know he's not really trying to engage in meaningful conversation with Varrick, and I get the feeling that Varrick knows it too but is just being polite.

"I do believe so…" Varrick taps his chin. "But what the heck? It's all good! I'm just glad I've gotten to see you two again," he smiles, and Zhi Li gives a polite nod in agreement.

My father slides a hand into his pocket, wrapping his other arm around my shoulder. I try not to shudder at his touch. "As am I, Varrick," he grins, taking a step away. I can feel myself being pulled along with him, and I think I know where we're going. He's probably going to kidnap me and drag me along to enhance his discussions about new company products or to introduce me to people I'd most rather not meet - preferably the first option.

"Now if you don't mind, I'm going to borrow Asami for a while - there's been much demand for her concerning new products, as well as probable business partners and such."

Varrick waves a hand in our retreating direction, clearly being the gentleman I wish my father was. "Not at all, not at all! We'll have to chat again later tonight though before either of us leaves, Asami," Varrick says loud enough for my father to hear, my dad still pulling me away as I try to wave to Varrick and Zhu Li. "Talk to you later, alright kid?"

"Yeah!" I call back to him, and I can see Zhu Li giving me a departing wave. "See you later, Varrick!"

My father and I zig-zag through the crowd, and it takes me a few moments to realize that I've left my drink over on the table where I was talking to Varrick and Zhu Li. I'm still pretty thirsty… Oh well, I'll just have to grab another drink later whenever I can slip away from whatever agony my father is about to throw me into.

My dad still has an arm wrapped around my shoulder, and his body heat is permeating through to my chilled skin. It feels nice, in a way, but I know that it doesn't mean anything to him. He just wants me to do his bidding wherever it is he's taking me.

"Um, where are we going?" I ask after a few moments of silence. So far we've been darting in and out of small throngs of people sipping away at their champagne, laughing at bad jokes and hand-shaking their way through counterfeit friendships.

"I want you to speak some on that new engine design of yours," my father replies without glancing my way, and I finally feel like smiling. "But first I want you to meet a few people."

What was about to become a smile immediately falters, and I groan. I dislike meeting these people my father always forces me to introduce myself to - the whole routine is utterly exhausting, and the people are incredibly boring. They're all the same. And I just don't understand why he doesn't get that. Maybe he's been at this game for too long and doesn't see that everyone here, except for the rare few (like Varrick and Zhu Li) are mostly fakes. They don't see any other pleasures in life other than wealth and fame. It sickens me.

"Dad…" I grumble, my shoulders slumping in his grasp. "I don't want to meet any people. Can't I just talk about the engine and new design for some of the Sato Mobiles, like you said?" I know that even though I've voiced my question honestly it won't appeal to him, no matter if it's my personal preference or not. I should know any effort is futile by now, but I still can't help but reach out for any string of hope that may be present.

"Asami." My father shoots me a disapproving glance, and I frown. "There will be time for that later. Right now though, there are a few people I want you to meet."

We make a few more twists and turns around huddles of guests before my father begins to slow down. Usually you can tell by the looks of people what kind of business they might be involved in, and the group that we're now approaching looks to me to be a majority of well-dressed men. It's hard to guess what their career forte might be, but it's a no-brainer as to why my father brought me over to their group. 'Suitor' - it's the word my brain screams at me, pleading for me to make a run for it and retreat somewhere safe as we near.

"Gentlemen, gentlemen…" my father brings me to a halt by his side, and the men look at us expectantly. "Sorry for the wait; as you can see it's been very busy tonight - I hope you're all doing fine."

I shuffle my feet uncomfortably, and as I watch the men tell my father it's fine I notice that most of them have adorned their chests with various pins - which can only mean one thing. They're from the military. With my father, he's been known to invite all sorts of people to our meetings - but I don't recall encountering military occupants before. I wonder why they could be here?

"This is my daughter Asami," my dad gestures to me momentarily, but I know the men have probably noticed me before his little introduction. I nod absentmindedly, continuing to think about what exactly they might be doing here.

As if my father can read my mind he turns to me, catching my attention. "These men belong to the naval section of the military. We were thinking about starting a kind of partnership with them to supply them with new weaponry - it'll be purely Future Industries, and from what they've told me, our help would be greatly appreciated."

Oh… So that must have been why he brought me over here. That's certainly new… We haven't partnered with the navy or any government-funded/run program ever, so this is something big.

"And this here is General Iroh - he's the head of a major unit in the navy."

My heart picks up speed as I figure out that my father's only news wasn't to inform me on our new business prospects, but ulteriorly for something else that I have no interest in. I should have listened to my mind lecturing me earlier. I want to turn and leave but my father's hand on my shoulder restrains me from breaking away from the group.

"Pleased to meet you, miss," the man named Iroh comments, fixing me with a smile and amber eyes that I find are quite similar to Mako's.

My mind is still trying to grasp it's remaining sanity, and I pick nervously at the side of my dress. "Um, likewise." My eyes begin to wander, and I can feel my breathing begin to turn shallow.

"General Iroh has told me he was very interested in meeting you, Asami - you should show more enthusiasm," I can vaguely hear my father's chastising voice.

Iroh turns to me again. "Your father's told me quite a bit about you. I'm impressed with all that you've done for the company."

My father's grip on me tightens. I know he can feel my discomfort, and he knows that I don't want to be here. "Yes, she is a bright girl - you know Asami, you should spend some time with General Iroh. I'm sure you two would have a wonderful time getting to know one another -"

"Dad - stop it."

My father doesn't listen to me, only continuing to force his suggestions. "There's a gala in a few weeks that the General has asked me if you'd like to attend -"

"Dad."

"Asami, you need to get on board with real life - get out and meet some people -"

"Dad!"

Things get noticeably quiet around us, and I know it's because I've raised my voice. I don't like to shout - _ever -_ but I feel it was the only way to get his attention. I know the men about us are staring, as are the rest of the people completely boxing me into this dreadful place. I try not to feel the suspicious stares being aimed our way as my father releases my shoulder and turns to me, his eyes burning.

"Asami." His voice is low and somewhat menacing. I flinch when his hand that was once on my shoulder moves down to my wrist, snaking around it tightly. "You are going to do as I say. There is no talking back, young woman," he hisses through clenched teeth.

"No, dad." I wrench my hand from out of his grip and he pulls back, clearly angry. "You know that I'm in a relationship already!" I shake my head in disbelief. "Why are you trying to do this to me?"

"Because you obviously don't know what you're doing," he remarks, making me ball my fists in frustration. "You're not thinking about the future of our company - and _I_ am. You're not in any relationship."

"Yes I am!" Despite the amount of people gawking at the scene we're making, I can't help but make it even more dramatic (of course not purposely), and without haste I feel the tears begin to fall down my cheeks. "You don't know anything!" I'm shouting now. "And why do you always say I have to think about the company? Why can't you care about what I want for once?! You're just being selfish!"

I feel a stinging sensation spread across my cheek in that moment, the tension in the air solidifying as the thought of what just occurred immediately weighs down on me.

I place a hand to my burning cheek, and meet my father's eyes again as my mind clears.

"Don't you _ever_ talk to me like that again."

I shake my head, backing away. The tears are free-falling now; I couldn't stop them even if I tried.

He doesn't care. He never did, and he never will.

"Asami, you get back here."

I turn my back away from him, my feet moving faster and faster as I weave my way through the silent crowd.

"Come back here right now!"

I don't look back. I don't want to be here.

"Asami -"

A gentle hand reaches out to gingerly touch my arm, and I glance quickly to my side, finding Varrick's worried blue eyes staring at me. Reminding me of someone else's blue eyes.

I shake my head again and pull my arm away, and I run.

I run away from the people. I can hear them shouting, telling me to come back, my father's voice the loudest and most patronizing amongst them…

But I don't listen.

I keep on running, running, running…

Where I'll stop, even I don't know.

* * *

 **soooo... comments? cries? pleas for the world to have some mercy on poor asami?**

 **any feedback is greatly appreciated! thank you all for those of you who've faved/followed, and i'll see you all soon. :)**


	17. Chapter 17

***sighs* sorry for not updating last week, things were just really busy and i wasn't able to get the chance. i made this chapter a bit longer than usual to make up for it though, so enjoy!**

* * *

 **Wish You Were Here**

The tournament seems to be going pretty well so far. Our rivals tonight are a school from farther up north, and they're actually pretty good. Before we started I decided to send Asami a quick text, telling her that I hoped everything would be fine on her end. After that I had to put my phone away, stashed in the depths of my sports bag as I left it in solitude in the girls' locker room.

"Hey, you okay?"

It's Opal. She turns to me, placing a hand on my shoulder, and I swivel my head back to the tournament currently in progress. Right now we're doing a few specialty swims, ones for backstrokes and things like that. The relay is going to be last, and that's when Opal and I will get more time in the water. We've just finished competing in a smaller relay, and the two of us are now getting a drink as we watch the rest of our teammates duke it out against the other school.

"Yeah, I'm alright," I say, slicking my wet hair back and pulling my wolf's tail tight so that it doesn't come undone when I go in next. "Just thinking about Asami, is all."

Opal nods in understanding. "Oh… Sorry she couldn't be here tonight."

"It's okay, I'm sure there'll be another tournament soon that she can come to." I place the water bottle I had been drinking from back down on the floor and swing my legs back and forth, my hands pressed flat against the seat of the bench the two of us are relaxing on. "I'm guessing this tournament might stretch for a couple of weeks or so, unless we get beaten kind of early. Which I doubt."

"Right." Opal replies as she looks me over. I try not to make eye contact with her and pretend I'm absorbed in the tournament, but I know she can sense that I'm a bit downcast. I can hear Opal sigh, and then a pat on my thigh follows. "Make sure you get your head in the game, alright Korra? I'm sure Asami will be fine, and I know she's cheering you on wherever she is," my friend smiles, and I crack a small grin.

"Yeah -" I know Opal won't say it straight, but she's more than right. I can't be feeling sorry for myself at a time like this - my team needs me. "We're part of the dynamic duo, and we're gonna be bomb tonight!" I extend my arm over the back of the bench and grab Opal by the shoulder, pulling her into my side. Her water bottle squelches in her grasp, spurting a long stream of ice-cold liquid on our faces, and the two of us grimace simultaneously.

"Nice one, Korra…" Opal mutters.

"Woops," I say as I rub a hand over my eyes to flick away the water. Despite my little mishap, I know tonight's gonna go well if Opal and I put our minds to it.

"Korra, are you and Opal almost ready for the last relay?" I hear our coach call from farther away, next to the rim of the pool, and I give him a nod.

"Yeah, coach, we're good!" I call back, and then I turn to Opal. "Ten bucks that I'll beat whoever it is they put me up against."

"Oh ho ho!" Opal chuckles as she leans back, shaking her head. " _That_ I know is going to happen for sure, so no thank you, I'd rather not lose ten precious dollars that I could spend on something important."

"Something important like what?"

"I don't know… I went to Victoria's Secret a little while ago and they had this really nice sale on panties going o-"

"Okay okay that's enough out of you," I wrap a hand over Opal's mouth as she laughs, and I can feel her hot breath against my cold fingers. The shriek of a whistle blow pierces the air, announcing the end of the specialty swims. I get up and do a few arm stretches as Opal follows suite, and we turn to face each other with matching grins. It's almost our turn.

After we've shared our silent stretching time Opal sides up along beside me, and with a playful bump to the shoulder she winks. "You ready, Korrie?"

"Oh yeah." I stretch out my arms and link my fingers together before me, feeling them crack. "I'm definitely ready."

* * *

"You were awesome out there, Korra!" Opal swings her arm around my neck and pulls me in close, and I have to slip my hands through this manual link she's created so that I don't choke.

"Ack - Thanks, Ope…" I don't know why, but even though Opal's got this giant smile on her face I can't help but get the feeling that she's also trying to kill me or something. "You - You did pretty good too…" I heave a deep breath and throw her arm off of me, after which in doing so I feel the cool night air rush back into my deprived lungs.

"Nah." Opal waves a hand in my face. "You were definitely better. You were like, the star of the games tonight! I mean, you were like the last swimmer on our team for the relay, and you beat the other guy by a mile even though it was neck and neck at first." Opal's hand runs over to the side of my cheek, and she turns my face her way. I watch as a gentle smile finds it's way to her lips. "You were _amazing_ , Korra."

I try not to blush at Opal's statement, and settle for a shrug as I turn away and begin heading back to the locker room. Our team meeting just ended, and since we won today we'll be moving onto the next round sometime next week. The exact day hasn't been set yet, but we should find out sometime soon.

I'm bombarded a bit by some of my other teammates as we enter the locker room, and the cheers and pats on the back are more than enough to make me feel like a significant part of the team. Besides Opal's small display of of appreciation/affection, having the team tell me that I did great really makes me feel better than I did earlier. Swim is something I know that I can do well, and when other people acknowledge my hard work, then I'm more than happy. Hopefully Asami will be here to see me the next time we're involved in the tournament.

Sliding into the hot, steaming shower I feel my muscles relax, and I take a deep inhale of the warm air. I let the water wash over my back and lift my arms to my head where I pull back my hair, allowing the water to rinse out most of the chlorine. I know I'll have to take another shower when I get home, but it's always best to take one right after you get out of the pool. Not only does it clean you up a bit, it also really makes you feel relaxed.

"Hey -" Opal pops her head into the shower stall, and I open my eyes and give her a curious look. Don't worry, I've still got my swim suit on - of course I'll take it off later, but that'll be after I change into my regular clothes when I dry off. "Your phone's been ringing for a while… I think your phone is in your bag. Want me to get it for you?"

I slowly reach down for the knob and turn off the water before I face Opal. She's pointing a finger in the direction of where our bags are. "Uh, nah, that's fine," I grab my towel that I've placed against the wall, wrapping it around my waist. "I'll go get it," I say, heading for my sports bag. I tussle my hair with another small hand towel that Opal hands me, and she sighs, walking over to her own stuff.

I grab my bag and place it on the bench that divides the locker room in two and undo the zipper on the side, where I've placed my phone in the large pocket. My heartbeat picks up speed when I flip the phone over, seeing the number of missed messages and the name on the screen.

Asami.

"Who is it?" Opal throws her bag on the floor carelessly, instead forcefully tugging on her boots as she looks up at me from her seat on the bench.

My eyes don't leave the screen, and I fumble around with the phone for a few seconds as I try to unlock it and check the messages she's left. It looks like they've all been relatively recent, so maybe I won't be too late getting back to her. "It's - It's Asami."

Opal stops too as a blank stare falls over her face. "Huh," is all she says before reaching for her bag and standing up.

I'm about to press the play button to hear the most recent message she's left me when a twinkling noise sounds, and I quickly press the green button to answer the incoming call. "Asami?" I say quickly, pressing the phone close to my ear.

"Korra…" Her voice sounds small. I've never heard her sound so… so _weak_ before. It's strange. Almost like it's not Asami.

"What is it? Did something happen?" My eyes dart over to Opal, who's staring at me silently. She has her bag over her shoulder, and I can tell that she knows that something's wrong by the way her usually bright green eyes have that worried glint in them. Like they had earlier this week.

I can hear Asami take a sharp breath on the other side of the line before speaking up again. "I - I - The meeting…"

"Don't worry Asami, I'll be right there," I reach into my bag and grab my clothes with my free hand, hugging them tightly to my chest. Asami never sounds like this. It's weird - her voice is so small and meek, and it kind of sounds like she's crying… "Where are you? Tell me where you are and I'll come to you."

"I-I'm over here off the freeway… There's a 7-Eleven near the freeway's exit. K-Kind of nearby the lake… Do you - Do you know where it is..?"

I nod to myself. I know where she's talking about, but I don't know why she's there. I thought she was at the meeting? Oh well - I guess I'll figure it out when I meet up with her, whatever it is. And whatever it is, it sounds pretty serious to me. "Yeah. I'll be there as soon as I can. Wait for me."

An airy reply, more of a whisper, actually, echoes through the phone. "...Okay."

I hang up and throw my phone back into the sports bag, moving my arms back up to my shoulders to take off the swim suit's damp straps. I realize my back isn't turned to Opal, so I quickly turn around and slide down the piece to my waist.

"Korra, Korra! What the heck are you doing!?" Opal's voice is a shocked whisper. "Why are you taking your clothes off? What happened with Asami?"

"No time to change in the bathrooms, Ope -" I put my sports bra on in less than a second, and following that I grab my black shirt and throw on the flannel I was wearing earlier. Then I make a grab for my pants, and I can hear Opal mutter "Oh god" - which I'm guessing she did because she knew what I was going to do next, and after I've zipped up my pants I turn back to see she's covering her eyes.

"And I don't know what's happening with Asami either -" I stuff my towel and crap into the sports bag and zip it up, making my way toward the locker room entrance. "But all I know is that she needs me right now, so I gotta go."

Opal grabs her bag too and we set off at a brisk pace down the remainder of the locker room, and when we enter into the night air I see that most of the people who were once sitting on the bleachers as the tournament went on are now gone. Had it really been a while since we got done? I hope Asami hasn't been trying to get a hold of me for too long…

Opal's eyes flash over to me, and I can sense her staring with my peripheral vision, but I keep my eyes locked ahead. "Something's wrong with Asami, isn't there?"

"Yeah," I answer. "I have to get to her."

We're almost to the parking lot.

I'm making a turn around the brick building beside the lot, Opal following, when a tall figure steps out of the shadows, startling the two of us.

"Hello, Korra."

My jaw clenches. Tahno. "What do you want?" I growl. I don't have time for this.

"You're on your way to go see Asami, aren't you?"

How - How does he know that? I tighten my hold around my sports bag. He could have heard from someone who was in the locker room; it's definitely a possibility. I look around us; a few other guys are backed off against the side of the brick building, evil smirks on their faces. Ones that match Tahno's exactly.

I try to step around the jerk. "Get out of my way."

I'm suddenly roughly pushed back.

"Nuh-uh." Tahno shakes his head, and a low chuckle sounds from his throat, making my skin crawl. "You're not going anywhere."

"Leave her alone!" Opal steps in, cutting Tahno off from any further contact.

"Shut up, brat." Tahno shoves Opal, sending her crashing into me. I manage to catch her by holding onto her shoulders, and her hands eagerly grasp my arms.

What the heck is this guy's problem? I help Opal stand up. This guy's making me angry - really angry. "Don't you _dare_ touch her again."

As quickly as the warning leaves my mouth, Tahno reaches out again, this time toward me. I feel myself lifted up as he tugs at the front of my shirt. His breath is hot against my face, and I turn away, the anger in me rising every second.

"And what if I do?"

"If you do -" I'm about to finish the sentence, wracking my brain for an answer, when I see Tahno's eyes bug.

"Then _this_ is gonna happen." Stepping back I see that Opal's thrown a direct (and might I add pretty powerful) punch to Tahno's stomach, and he instantly drops me to the ground.

The guy clutches his abdomen, all the while looking at Opal and I with a fiery, unsatiated hate in his suddenly dark eyes. "Why you little…"

"Run, Korra!"

"What?"

Opal shoves me violently before grabbing my arm, beginning to haul me along as we head off into the lamp-lit parking lot. "Run! Get out of here, doofus!"

Oh, right - need to get away from these bad guys. I can hear Tahno calling his buddies to follow him, my eyes scanning the parking lot for Opal's whereabouts. She's off to the side, seeing as how she parked on the other side of the lot (which would actually make it easier for both of us to get away - the bad guys can't really go after both of us), and I grin when I see her get into her car.

Now I just have to find my keys, dammit… I turn my head up and see Tahno running my way, his buddies not too far behind. Oh crap oh crap oh crap -

Ah! Here they are.

The keys slip easily into the lock and I get into my car, slamming the door as fast as I possibly can behind me before pressing the lock button. My car shakes as Tahno slams up against it and begins banging on the window, and I just smirk, sticking out my tongue at him. I put up the letter L to my forehead, and he grimaces, shaking a fist at me like some dopey villain from a cartoon would.

I stick my keys into the ignition and back the car out, watching Opal as she zooms by in her green little buggy. She throws me a wave and a thumbs up, and I have to laugh at her silly antics. "Thanks Ope," I mouth, and she nods, giving me a nonchalant wave.

Before she's entirely out of the parking lot, me lagging in my car behind her a bit, Opal puts down the window and leans out. "Go get her, Korra!" she giggles, and I fist pump in my miniscule four-seater, my hand hitting the roof a bit harder than I thought it would have. But hey, maybe it's better that I break my hand banging my car roof rather than socking Tahno in the gut (thank you, dope).

Opal makes a split onto one of the smaller roads, and we give each other one last wave before we can't see each other anymore. I'll have to make sure to call her and thank her later. Right now though I have something really important to do.

The freeway is luckily not as packed as I thought it would be, so maybe all the traffic jams and accident stuff already happened. I hope Asami's doing okay.

I roll down the window and let the frigid autumn air comb it's fingers through my damp hair, and I look up at the night sky. Wherever Asami is, nearby the lake, I bet she's probably looking at the sky too. It's a beautiful night: you can see the blinding white of the moon clearly, a half-circle prominently burning in the dark, and I'm reminded of the night Asami took me to the lake. The night we first kissed.

Don't worry Asami, I'm coming.

* * *

When I finally reach the 7-Eleven near the lake I instantly look around the neon-lit parking lot, searching for Asami's black convertible. I spot it near the back, tucked away near the side of the gas station, and I can vaguely see a figure inside the car. It has to be Asami.

I pull up next to her car, and I can see that she notices the movement of my vehicle settling next to hers because she immediately throws open her car door and runs out. I barely have enough time to open the door and stand up before she viciously throws herself at me, and I wrap my arms around her shaking, sobbing form.

"A-Asami..?"

Only muffled sobs come from her.

"Asami, what is it? What happened? I tried to get here as fast as I could -"

Asami pulls back after a moment and gives me a sad smile, using the back of her hand to wipe away a few tears. There's a noticeable wetness around her eyes, and I know it's random and I feel bad for thinking it at a time like this, but damn does she look good… It's a surprise that her mascara isn't running. Has to be waterproof.

"S-Sorry about that," she chuckles half-heartedly, and I pull back a little, although my hands I refuse to remove from around her waist. "I've just been here in my car for a while, waiting for you." She wipes again at her eyes. "Thanks for coming."

"Sure," I say, cracking a grin. It doesn't last long though, because obviously I want to know what on earth happened to her - why she's crying. "But Asami… What happened to you? Why are you crying?"

Asami's hands fall from their position against my back, and she frowns, shrugging her shoulders some. "I-It's my dad…"

"Do you… want to talk about it?"

She nods, and I gently take her hand, leading her to the edge of the curb. I take a seat on the cement and pat the place next to me, trying to smile, and it works; she giggles a little and tucks her dress under her before settling beside me.

"So what happened?" I look Asami's way, but she's focused on the ground.

"We were at the meeting. I - Um, well, it was pretty normal at first. There were a lot of people there… My father came over to me and told me he wanted me to talk about some of the engine work I did for some of the new Sato Mobiles." Asami moves her long legs closer to her body, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. "Things got a little heated between the two of us when I realized he was trying to introduce me to a suitor instead…"

Asami's quiet, but I don't dare say anything else.

"He slapped me in front of everyone."

I stare at Asami, wide-eyed, unable to find any control over my tongue for a few seconds. When I do, Asami's looking at me again, a pained expression on her beautiful face. "He… He _slapped_ you?"

Asami nods, releasing a long breath that turns to vapor as it makes contact with the cool air. She cracks a weak smile. "It's not something that took me completely by surprise though… I should have known he'd get fed up with me one day. And it just so happened to be today, I guess."

"What - What are you going to do?"

Asami sniffs a little before she dabs at her eyes again, although I'm sure most of her tears are already gone. "I - I don't really know… I can't go back home though, that's for sure. At least not now, after what he just did…"

I stare at the ground for a moment, and then a brilliant idea pops into my mind. Turning to Asami I place a hand on her shoulder, only feeling now how cold her skin really is. "Hey… Maybe you could stay at my place for a while. That is, if you want, or if you don't mind being stuck with me for a while in the same room or under the same roof or anything…"

"Really?" Asami says, looking incredibly excited with the proposition. "You mean it?"

"Yeah, of course," I nod my head, standing up as I take off my flannel. I drape it around her shoulders. "It would be pretty harsh of me not to let my girlfriend stay over at my place when she needed a roof over her head, wouldn't it?"

I'm thrust back again as Asami jumps up and wraps her arms around my neck, pulling me closer to her. I can feel her warm breath ghost against the base of my neck, and feel a strange tingly sensation… A good one, that is.

"Oh my god Korra, you don't know how much this means to me…"

We both stand there for a while, just holding each other. Or maybe it's more Asami holding me, seeing as how I'm just about melting into her embrace cause I know I won't be able to stand up pretty soon anymore. My head's so freaking dizzy that I'm sure if I tried to take a step right now I'd fall flat on my face in a split second.

Yeah, maybe I should ask her to let me go… It'd be for my own good. Sorry Asami…

"Um… Y-You wanna hotdog?"

"What..?" Asami releases her hold a little, and now I'm staring into her vibrant green eyes.

"H-Hotdog."

"Hotdog..?"

"Do you… Do you want a hotdog?" I cough out, feeling a blush spread across my cheeks.

Asami laughs. "Ohhhh…" She exclaims, and she links her arm through mine, pulling me toward the gas station entrance. "Do I want a hotdog?" Asami puts a finger to her lips and pretends to think, and I take a long gulp. I don't know why I'm still so nervous around her all the time.

Asami sees me staring and she stops, grabbing the edges of the flannel and wrapping it around her body some more. I know for a fact that she's doing it because I can't help but stare - I know it's rude, but heck, she looks so beautiful tonight I can't keep my eyes off of her.

"See something you like?"

"Uh…" I don't know whether to say yes or no, because I don't want to sound like a perv and I don't want to pretend I'm not interested. But that's pretty much impossible because I think I'm guilty of both right now. "U-Um… I kinda, w-well… I-"

I'm shushed by the touch of her index finger to my lips.

"It's okay. You don't have to say anything." Asami gives me a quick peck on the cheek, and I'm left paralyzed. Even more so than before. "Come on, I'm hungry. Let's go get some hotdogs."

* * *

I'm busy stuffing a chili dog down my throat, and Asami laughs, trying not to spill any relish on the dashboard of her convertible.

"She did _what?!_ "

I lick at my lips and swallow, hoping that I'm not going to choke. "She literally punched the dude right in the gut!" I say, motioning with my chili dog some kind of air swipe, at the same time scattering crumbs across my lap. I sit back and sigh. "Literally, it was one of the best things I have ever seen."

"Wow…" Asami shakes her head and takes another bite of her hotdog. "I can't believe Opal did that. That's really selfless - it only shows what a good friend she really is," Asami smirks at me, and I swat at her with my dog.

"Yeah, I gotta call the dope later and thank her for sacrificing herself." I take another bite of my food and furrow my brows. "I don't know why that guy's always trying to cause trouble for us though… I mean, he's acting like me hanging out with you is some kind of crime or something, and it really gets on my nerves."

"Tahno, you said, right?" Asami asks, and I nod. "Yeah… I know him. _Knew_ him, actually. We don't talk to each other anymore."

"You knew Tahno?"

"Mhm," Asami nods, her cheeks stuffed. She swallows before continuing. "He used to be one of the suitors my father introduced me to a while ago. He's the son of a wealthy family who's in charge of a highly efficient water purification corporation… My father tried to get us together a few times, but _eww_ -" Asami quickly shakes her head, and I laugh. "that guy was always too creepy for my liking. He's probably just jealous of you. It would make sense, him picking on you and everything."

"Oh - so that's his problem!" I say more to myself than to Asami as I shove more of my dog into my mouth. "Byeah, bat makefs fense…"

"I'd like to thank you Korra," Asami places a hand on my thigh, and I turn to her, half a hotdog trying to break free from my mouth's attempt to ravenously down it right then and there. God, I must look like an idiot. "For going through all of that for me."

Oh god, she looks so pretty right now with the way her hair is falling over her shoulder and with that creamy whiteness of her smooth skin showing and that dress looks -mmm- delicious - and her eyes, god her eyes…

Korra, get a grip on yourself here.

"U-Uh, y-yeah," I avert my gaze, trying not to concentrate on the place where Asami's palm is pressed against my thigh, the warmth sinking through my jeans.

I'm pretty sure Asami sees how fussy I am right now because the next thing I know her hand is creeping higher up my leg, soon enough resting on my shoulder. I want to pull away but instead I turn toward her even though my mind is screaming at me that if I do look at her I'm going to fall prey to those bright emerald eyes.

"You've got a little something right there…" A warm wetness glides across the rim of my mouth and I blush wildly.

"A-Asami…" But my words are nothing against her, and the next thing I know I'm leaning into her and she's leaning into me, our lips pressed together in a messy lock. We're at it for a while until I feel the oh-so-desperate urge to breathe (although I really don't want to ever leave this kiss, because it feels so so good, but I know I have to because if I don't breathe I'm probably gonna die), and then I pull away slowly, the taste of her still on my tongue.

Or actually maybe the taste of relish - she had some of that.

"...You good?" Asami asks breathily, and I nod. "Good."

I'm still holding the remainder of my hotdog, which has somehow ended up a weird combination of chili and bun in my fist, and I watch as Asami tidies herself up. She looks to be getting ready to go somewhere, but I really have no idea what she has planned if we've just interrupted our make-out session for some much-needed oxygen. I mean, I was okay if we were going to continue… Not that I'll ask her to please continue. No, that'd be way too embarrassing.

"U-Um, what are you doing?"

Asami smiles over at me and turns the keys in the ignition. "Oh, I think it'd be better if we continued this somewhere else."

I cross my arms over my chest and give her a pout. "You always say that when I want to kiss you…"

She laughs, tossing her head back and sending a curtain of jet-black hair cascading down her bare shoulders where the flannel has managed to slip. "Korra, you're too cute."

After I sit there for what feels like an eternity watching her laugh at little old me Asami takes a deep breath, once again wiping at her eyes. "But really, I think it'd be best to go - my father is still probably at the meeting, lord knows dealing with media and all that…" she says, rolling her eyes as her tone lowers for a brief period. "So it might be best if I went home to gather my things, since he won't be there. Then after that I can meet you at your place, if that sounds good."

Oh, I see… Yeah, if her dad is still at the meeting it'd probably be best for her to go home now so that she won't have to run into him later. "Ah -" I shake a finger at her, and she raises an eyebrow as I wink. "You are very smart, Asami. Very smart indeed."

"I'm not a Sato for nothing, you know."

"True, haha." I open the passenger door and shut it behind me as I leave, walking over to my car which is economically parked alongside Asami's. Yay for not having to walk very far. "You'll come over to my place, right? After you pick up your things."

Asami has her window down, and she nods at me. I watch her smile as the faint yellow of her dash illuminates her skin, almost making her look like she's glowing. She almost looks like an angel, with that otherworldly shine - and if I didn't know any better, I'd wholeheartedly believe it.

"Yes. I'll come right back to you."

"You'd better, because you still owe me a few more kisses."

"Oh don't you worry… I plan on paying you in full." Asami's face softens, and she smiles at me, her voice warmer than before. "Thanks again, Korra… I - I don't know what I'd do without you."

I know exactly how to reply this time, and I'm not nervous in the slightest bit - because I know it's the truth. "I don't know what I'd do without you either."

* * *

When I get home my mom and dad are in the kitchen busy working on some paperwork. Must be hard for them cause it's a Friday night, and you know, people just usually want to relax and everything.

"Korra, welcome back," my dad says, looking up from a sheet of paper before him. He adjusts his reading glasses slightly, pushing the frame up the bridge of his nose.

"Hey." I walk over to the dinner table and drop my sports bag and backpack on the floor, trying not to make it sound like I'm throwing around a sack of bowling balls (which I'm definitely not, but it feels like it sometimes). "Um…" I start. I don't really know how to tell them this, but I don't think they'd be against it. We'll just have to see how it goes. "I wanted to ask you guys something."

"Fire away," my mom smiles. Her voice is warm and welcoming, and I know that they're happy to see me back home. Just so you know, Friday's are kinda the day that they're more chill, being excited for the weekend, which they get a little later than the rest of the country. Or world. I don't know.

"Um, you know Asami, right?"

"Of course we know Asami," my mom says, and my dad nods along with her. "That sweet girl that you brought over a little while ago, right? I'll never forget someone like her."

My dad smirks at me, and I know what he's getting at. "Yeah, I'm sure she's a wonderful daughter, unlike, you know, some people." I grumble and cross my arms. "You can't forget someone like her, no-sirey."

"Anyways -" I sigh. "She's - uh, well, she's having some trouble at home, so I was wondering if, um… Well, if she could possible stay with us for a while?"

Both of my parents look up at me, and I shrug. Please say yes. Please say yes…

"I don't see why not?" My dad says after a few seconds, and I jump into the air and do a fist pump. "She doesn't seem like a bad egg."

"Woo-hoo! Thanks - that's awesome!" I grab my bags, and all of a sudden they don't feel too heavy anymore. "And you're awesome, and the whole world is awesome -"

"Korra, Korra…" my mom laughs, and I stop breakdancing to look at her. "Just make sure you're responsible," she says, "For yourself, and for her."

I crack a grin at my mom and start walking out of the kitchen, down the hall to my room upstairs. "Yeah, don't worry - I will, mom."

"Alright, thanks for letting us know."

"Oh!" I pop my head over the banister, "She's gonna come later tonight, okay? She's just at her house getting some stuff."

"Right - we got it, Korra," I hear my father reply, and I have to continue up to my room with a wide smile. Man, this is great - Asami can stay with me now!

I walk into my room and throw my bags off to the side, awaking Naga who was resting by the foot of my bed. "Hey girl," I say, ruffling the fur on her head. "Guess what? Asami's gonna come and stay with us for a bit!"

Naga barks happily at me, and I laugh. "Yeah, I'm really excited too." I back up and walk over to my dresser, pulling out a pair of shorts and a long t-shirt. "I'm gonna go take a shower first though, okay? I'll be back in a bit… Hopefully before Asami gets here." The last part I add under my breath. It would be kinda awkward if Asami came and I was taking a shower; she'd have to be downstairs with my parents, and god knows what they'd ask her. Or tell her. Most likely about how air-headed I am all the time, much to my disappointment.

After a nice warm shower I go back to my room and plop myself down on my bed with what fresh clothes I have. It's almost 11… I wonder if Asami's still at her house? Maybe she has a lot of stuff to bring… But heck, I really thought she'd be here by now.

I frown and grab my phone which had been sitting on my night stand. Weird - there aren't any texts from Asami. I fall back on my bed with a loud sigh, and close my eyes. Maybe I can get some rest before she comes. I wonder if I should send her a text though?

Going with the previous thought I shoot Asami a quick text.

 **Me:** _hey, everything going okay? i'll be here at my house, so just come by whenever. preferably not too late at night, haha - might be asleep. but whatevs… see you, i guess. :)_

I throw my phone off to the side and close my eyes once again, taking a deep breath. Naga's by my side, and I can feel her breathing heavily as she sleeps. Yeah, I'm a bit tired too… Maybe I can take a short nap. I'm sure Asami will call or text me whenever she's here.

* * *

I'm awoke by a twinkling sound emanating from somewhere to my left.

"Ugh, what the..?" I reach over and look at my phone, pressing the home button as I sleepily rub my eyes. It's only 11:34 - I haven't been asleep for very long. But someone's calling me.

I press the green accept button. "Hi…" I say groggily. "Who's this?" I know it's lame, but I'm half-asleep so I didn't even take the chance to look at the caller ID. My laziness is a disease, I tell you.

"It's Opal." She sounds out of breath, and I don't know if I'm imagining things but her voice is somewhat shaky.

"Oh hey Ope. Sorry I didn't call you earlier, I had to go see Asami but I wanted to thank you f-"

"Korra."

Her serious tone catches me by surprise. "...What… What is it?"

I hear her hesitate. "I don't know if you know this, but… It's - It's Asami."

"..."

"She… She's in the hospital."

* * *

 **O.o**

 **so. strange tinglies? hotdog kisses? freaky hospital calls? man, korra's gone through it all in one night...**

 **welp ( haha, yes, that is not a typo), i'll try to upload sooner next time. hopefully the length made up for it, and thanks for reading! leave a review if you'd like! :) (oh, and i also updated a few of the past chapters, fyi, haha... nothing major, typos and thingies, but whatevs. re-read if you feel the desire to do so). xD**


	18. Chapter 18

**hi there everyone. :) i know it was terrible of me to leave you last time with such a cruel ending, and i'm sure you've all been worried sick about asami (just kidding, i'm pretty sure you were fine, haha), but i guess now you can read on and figure out if she's okay? :o**

* * *

 **Hospital Homies**

I burst open through the entrance of the third floor and look around warily, seeing Opal with Bolin and Mako straight ahead. The three of them are sitting in some waiting chairs outside of the room I suspect Asami is in - room 325.

Opal sees me approaching and immediately stands up. "Korra!"

I come to a halt beside the three of them, somewhat out of breath. I literally came here as fast as I could thanks to traffic letting up since it's the middle of the night - but I swear, I have never rushed this fast in my life. "Guys…" I croak out, my voice raspy. I don't know what else to say.

"Korra, I'm really sorry," Bolin's wringing his hands together, and he walks over to me, engulfing me in a giant bearhug.

I slowly allow myself to relax into Bolin's tight embrace, and feel a few tears trickle out of the corners of my eyes, only to sink into the thick wool of his sweater. "I-It's not your fault, Bo."

When he pulls away I can see that Bolin's eyes are misty as well, but he does the best he can to manage a smile when I give him a playful punch on the shoulder.

I look behind the three and point to the room. "She's in there, isn't she?" I say, and Mako nods.

"Yeah, but we're not allowed in right now," he sighs, and I cross my arms in annoyance. "The doctor told us we could come in when they're ready, but heck, we don't even know when that is," Mako raises his arms in disbelief before plopping back down in his seat, and I follow, taking the chair beside him.

"We might as well sit and wait, I guess…" Opal mutters from the other side.

"You know, I still don't really know what happened," I lean over and look at the three of them, catching all of their stares at once. "I mean, you all knew about this before I did, so…" I try cracking a smile as I shrug my shoulders. "I didn't get the chance to ask you about it on the phone, Ope."

"Oh yeah," Opal raises a finger in the air. "Well, maybe Mako should explain it to you - I was in a rush myself to get here to the hospital, so I don't know all the details either."

I switch my gaze to Mako. "Mako?"

My friend takes a deep inhale, sweeping a hand through his spiky black hair. "I was out on the job again tonight by the freeway with the chief, watching the traffic and all that," he says, looking down at his hands. "Then all of a sudden I hear this loud screeching and the next thing I know there's an accident… I went to go see what happened, and I saw that it was Asami. I called Bo to tell him what happened, and then I guess he called Opal and Opal called you."

I nod slowly, taking in all of what Mako had just said. So _that's_ why Asami never came… She - She got into an accident… "T-Thanks for letting us know…" I say after a few moments, brushing a hand through my own hair. It's still damp after the shower, even though that was maybe around an hour ago. I bring my gaze back up after a while to meet Mako's worried eyes. "You - You decided to stay then?" I half-grin. "You aren't still on the job, are you?"

Mako's embarassed smile doesn't evade me. "Yeah… Uh, I thought you could use some support tonight, so I asked the chief if I could leave work early."

"Thanks… It means a lot to me, you being here," I smile. "Hey…" I wonder if he knows about me and Asami then? You know, since he said that he thought that I could use some support. "Do you - Do you know about me and Asami then?" I ask him.

Mako tries not to chuckle. "Well, that day that we met for breakfast at the cafe I was really lost… I asked Bolin what was going on after, and he told me about you and Asami."

Bolin leans in over Mako, a nervous look on his face. "I'm really sorry Korra, but I just couldn't hold in the secret any longer and you guys together is literally the next best thing since peanut butter and jelly, and I just HAD to tell Mako…" he finishes, exhausted with speaking so fast.

I giggle and pat Bolin on the thigh. "Don't worry, it's alright, Bo. I don't mind. I was just a bit surprised, is all."

Bolin sighs in relief. "Oh, dear god that's good… Cause I was, like, really worried that you might get mad if you didn't want him to know."

"No, it's fine, really." I wave my hand at him.

"I'm still a little surprised though…" Mako turns to me, and I raise an eyebrow at him. "I mean, I knew you and Asami were pretty close, but I didn't think you were…" He pauses, and I figure he's trying to find a way to say what he wants to say without offending me in some sort of way. But honestly, I already know what he's going to say. "I didn't think you were, you know - into girls."

"Uhhhh…" I raise my hand to rub the back of my neck, and I can feel my cheeks beginning to heat up some. "I didn't really think I was into them either, but I guess I was wrong, haha."

"Not that we still don't love you," Opal chimes in. "I would still be your friend even if you were a sad, lonely, individual with no interest in love whatsoever."

"But I'm not," I reply.

"You were at one point," she quickly answers, and I bite my tongue to stop me from trying to make a stupid comeback (because obviously Opal is 100% correct on this one, for once).

The four of us giggle it out for a bit before we remember the situation we're in and then we awkwardly fall back into an awkward round of silence.

"Um, so…" I press my palms flat against my jeans. "What - What exactly happened to Asami?"

"From what I heard, she got a concussion," Mako states monotonously. "I don't know how bad it is, though. I think the doctor's in there right now, so he'll probably tell us what happened when he comes out," Mako nods his head back at the room. "Whenever that is," he adds.

"So no broken bones or anything?" I ask.

"Not that we know of," Opal breaths out, her green eyes focused on the linoleum flooring. "But I'm still really worried about her."

"Yeah, so am I…" I mumble under my breath, although I know the three of them can hear me. Bolin and Mako only nod their agreement.

The four of us sit in the waiting chairs for a while, and every so often we make small chat. But for a large portion of the time I feel like we're each individually secluded by silence, preventing us from engaging in too much conversation for the time that we're there.

I know that none of us can help it, though; we're all really centered on hoping Asami's alright that it's hard for us to try to think about anything else, and if we do, it's sort of like (well, at least for me it is) we get this guilt that forces us to remain in this dreary gloom. It's really depressing.

I'm pretty sure I'm falling asleep because when I hear the creak of a door opening I jump. "I'm up, I'm up!" I quickly say, wiping away at the drool leaking out of the corner of my mouth. Ew, nasty.

"You four are here for Asami, is that right?"

I look to my left and see a man in a large white coat, and the four of us stand up immediately and begin making our way over to him.

"Yes, that's us," Mako answers. I look over to Bolin and Opal, and they're rubbing their eyes and shaking their heads too - man, I think Mako's the only one of us right now who's really awake. It could be partly due to his job though, having to stay awake to catch those speedsters and stuff like that.

"How is she?" I look at the doctor, and he sticks the clipboard he had been carrying when he walked out under his arm.

"She's alright."

The four of us sigh simultaneously, and the doctor tries a weak smile.

"She had a nasty bump on the head, but it's nothing too serious. A few minor cuts and gashes here and there, but I'm sure she'll be fine. She just needs some rest, is all." He looks back over his shoulder to the room, which has the windows covered by shades that have been closed.

"You must be her friends," he says after a brief moment of silence, and we nod. "I'm glad that she has friends like you that care about her."

"Thanks, doc," I smile at the man, and he gives me a pat on the shoulder.

"You can see her in a few minutes when the nurse comes out." The doctor gives the four of us a small departing wave before continuing on down the hall, and my friends and I watch in silence.

"So…" Bolin's voice penetrates the quiet atmosphere, but it's a relief to hear him sounding more chipper than before for the past few hours we've been here. "It sounds like she'll be fine, then?" he shrugs, and Mako wraps his arm affectionately around his little brother's neck, playfully rubbing his hair as he gives Bolin a noogie.

"Yeah, sounds like she's gonna be fine," Mako repeats, and I crack a smile at the two.

The next thing I know I'm surrounded again by someone's strong tan arms, and am happy to realize that they're Opal's, her short bob brushing against my ear as she wraps me in the second hug I've received tonight.

"Did you hear that, Korra?" she whispers. "Asami's going to be okay."

"Yeah," I move my arms to wrap them tightly around Opal's shoulders as I return the hug. "I'm really glad."

"You can see Asami now," a voice says, disturbing our little heartwarming moment. I open my eyes and see a woman, my guess the nurse, opening the door to Asami's room.

I drop my hands from around Opal's back.

"She's asleep right now… The concussion wasn't too bad, but she needs to rest some more, so try not to wake her."

I nod and quietly make my way past the nurse as she opens the door, allowing the rest of my friends to follow behind me.

Asami's lying down in the bed, still in her black dress, with my flannel around her and the white hospital sheets pulled up to her chest. I stop by the side of her bed and watch her breathe steadily, and find myself smiling at how peaceful she looks asleep.

I reach out and gently grab a strand of her soft black hair, rubbing it between my index finger and thumb. "Asami…" There's a few stiff strands of hair, matted slightly by blood where she probably banged her head pretty hard. A large band-aid covers part of her forehead, and it looks somewhat silly, but at the same time it also makes her look incredibly cute (in a dorky way, of course).

"She looks so peaceful," Bolin sighs from the other side of the bed, and I look over at him, seeing his green eyes shining adoringly. "I wish I could have gotten to know her better before this happened…" he sniffs.

I know I've literally just had the same thought for myself, but with Bolin saying it out loud it sounds kind of wrong. "Bolin, you're making it sound like she's dead," I remark, looking over at him opposite me.

He cringes. "Ugh, did it really? Sorry, I didn't mean it like that…"

"That band-aid on her head looks like she got hit pretty hard though," Opal stops beside me, placing a hand on my shoulder.

The four of us stare at her for a few minutes. Asami doesn't look too bad, to be honest… And I'm relieved to know that she'll be alright.

"I wonder when she'll wake up?" Bolin says, rubbing his chin.

"I don't know, Bo," Mako shakes his head. "We could come back later though, if you want, when she's awake," Mako says, turning to me and meeting my eyes.

I simply look at him, not really having an exact answer. I bite my lip. "I - I don't think I want to leave her," I tell him. "I want to be here for her, if that's fine with you guys."

Opal squeezes my shoulder with her hand. "You want to stay here until she wakes up, don't you?" There's a look of sympathy in her eyes, and she nods over at Asami.

My eyes remain on Asami, and seeing her so at rest gives me a kind of peace that I didn't have when I first got here. "Yeah," I breathe out, "I do." My voice is small, but I know Opal can hear me.

"Okay." She turns around and walks over to Bolin, taking his arm and gently pulling him away from Asami's bedside. "Come on Bo, let's go get some ice cream to cheer us up."

"Awww…" Bolin moans, clawing at the air as Opal drags him away and out the door. "I wanna stay with Asami too…"

"No, Korra's staying with Asami," I can hear Opal say, and a grin finds it's way onto my face.

"You want us to get you anything?"

It's Mako, still standing by the foot of the bed.

"Uh," I stick my hands into my pockets and shrug. "No thanks, I think I'm good."

Mako gives me a wave. "Okay." He turns and begins heading after Opal and Bolin, but stops when he gets to the door. "We'll come back in a bit to check on you and Asami."

"Sounds good."

"Oh, and Korra?"

Mako's quiet as our eyes meet again. His blazing amber eyes have always been something I think of whenever Mako's name pops into my mind (aside from his weird eyebrows and the red scarf he wears everywhere), and at times they're intense and fiery and wild - but right now, all I can see in them is a soft, friendly glow.

"I'm glad you're together with Asami - I think she needs someone like you around."

Mako leaves after that, and I'm left speechless by his announcement, watching his retreating back as the door closes behind him and he heads off after Opal and Bolin who are waiting outside in the empty hallway.

It's surprising, actually - Mako's confession. Mako and I made up a long time ago after we had our break up (to still retain our friendship), and things have been pretty much the same between us, besides the fact that we've lost a little bit of trust in each other. I know Mako's tried dating again after me, but _this_ , being with Asami, is an entirely new thing for me. And it's strange, because it feels so right - so _normal_ \- having her around.

Maybe this time around this relationship is meant to last.

I drag a chair over to Asami's bedside and take a seat, resting my head on the mattress. God, I'm so tired right now. My heavy eyelids threaten to close, but my eyes I keep on Asami until her gentle breathing lulls me to sleep as well.

* * *

When I open my eyes it's morning, and bright light attempts to pour through the curtained windows (and also attempts to blind me) despite the cloth blocking the way.

I sit up and yawn, wiping at the corners of my mouth for drool that I absolutely know escaped during my slumber. Then I rub my sleepy eyes and stretch.

"You're finally awake."

I halt mid-stretch.

There's Asami, sitting up in her bed with a smug grin on her face.

Like I haven't seen her in ten years I throw myself at her, and Asami laughs as I wrap her in a warm hug. "Asami, oh my god, I was so worried about you!" I pull her close to me, not wanting to let go.

Asami returns the hug and I feel her arms travel across my back. "I'm fine, so you don't have to worry anymore," she says softly, running her hands through my loose hair.

It feels a bit like how it was last night at the gas station, Asami holding me as I breathe in her familiar scent, and me trying not to get too overwhelmed by the fact that Asami Sato is in my arms and I'm in hers.

Again I don't want to pull away but I force myself to so that I don't end up blowing a fuse. I quirk an eyebrow at the girl before me. "Since when did you wake up?"

Asami shrugs. "I've been up for a while, but I didn't want to wake you."

"Why not?"

Asami blushes at my question, and for some reason seeing her blush makes my cheeks turn red too. "Because I like watching you sleep… You're really cute."

I turn away and try not to make it look like her reply made me ultra-squeamish. "U-Uh, is that so?"

"I think so." Asami leans in and gives me a quick peck on the cheek. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to make it to your house last night, but…" She chuckles. "As you can see, I've kind of gotten myself into this mess."

"It's alright." I place my hand on hers, and her face lightens up. "I'm just glad that you're okay now. It's not your fault that something like this happened, so don't worry about it. You can come home with me anytime you're ready."

"About that -"

My head whips toward the source of the sound, which happens to have come from the door that's now wide open with Bolin standing there, Opal and Mako right beside him.

"What the heck? Since when did you guys get here?" My mind kicks into overdrive as I begin to panic slightly (due to the fact that Asami and I had just had a cuddle session). "How much did you guys see?"

"Oh, my dear child," Bolin's suddenly right next to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulder and splaying out the other before us in a mysterious gesture. "We have seen _everything._ "

I frown. "You're kidding, right?"

"What Bolin's trying to say," Opal steps in, "is that we just got here, so no, we didn't see anything."

"We decided to crash at my place after the ice cream," Mako adds. "We actually came back last night after we went out, but you were sleeping when we got here… So we just decided to come back in the morning, since you said you wanted to stay here with Asami."

"Oh…" I relax, almost deflating back onto the bed as Asami giggles at me.

"The doctor was outside," Opal smiles.

"Yeah, that dude's super chill," Bo crosses his arms. "He was all like, 'Hey kids! Wassup? You guys back to see that friend of yours?' and we were all like, 'Yeah, our other friend is sleeping in there with her, so we just came to check up on them -'"

"Bo! Bo!" I wave my arms before covering my face, which I can feel is burning like I just got a serious case of sunburn. But really this probably is worse, cause trust me, I know sunburn as a swimmer. "Oh my god, you didn't tell the doctor that Asami and I were sleeping together, did you?" I moan, and Bolin suddenly realizes what he said.

Mako, Opal and Asami burst out laughing at the exact same time, and I can only shake my head at Bolin, who's now cowering behind Opal and Mako.

"Woops…" Bolin laughs nervously, and I can only sigh.

"Jesus, Bolin…"

Bolin smile sheepishly. "Well, I'm pretty sure he knew what I was talking about. I don't think he took it the wrong way…"

"You better hope he didn't."

Asami turns to me as she wipes away at some tears. Dear god, what did I do to deserve all of this being made fun of? "Would it be so bad if we were sleeping together?" she smirks, and I sit up straighter. "We have slept together before, you know - this wouldn't be the first time."

I really can't do anything else but stutter, because I can't get the image of me and Asami doing what I'm pretty sure she's implying (as simply as if she might be stating the color of the sky) out of my mind.

"Ooohhhhhh!" Bolin and Opal are immediately at Asami's side, twin looks of wonder and amazement on their despicable faces. "You two - you've done it?!"

"Tell us, tell us, I beg you!" Bolin urges, tugging on Asami's sleeve. "Opal and I want to hear all the details!"

"Ugh, no…" I facepalm. "Asami, why are you lying to them?"

"I'm not lying to them."

"But you're making it sound like we did something else when we really didn't…"

"Oops." Asami winks at me, placing a finger to her lips like what she's just spilled was some kind of secret (which I guess kinda was). "Sorry. I didn't know I made it sound like that," she laughs, and I grimace.

"No, Korra and I haven't actually done anything so intimate yet," Asami sighs, and Opal and Bolin fall back, looking entirely let down. Serves them right.

"Oh man…" Opal blows at a strand of short hair hanging down over her forehead. "And there you were getting our hopes up."

"Uh -"

The four of us turn to see Mako with a slightly perturbed look on his face, and he coughs a little before speaking. "Uh, well, the doctor told us that you were free to go today Asami… That's what Bolin was supposed to say before he got carried away making up those stories of his," Mako states as he shakes his head.

"I was not making up stories!" Bolin pouts.

" _Sure,_ " Mako stares at his fingerless gloves. "And you didn't have a whole tub of rocky road last night all to yourself either."

"I did though."

"Exactly."

"Wait though…" I'm feeling pretty excited right now, hearing that Asami can come home. I would hate to be in a hell hole like this, and I don't even know how she feels about this except that I'm not in her shoes and I already want to get as far away from this depressing place as I possibly can. "Asami can leave?"

"Yep," Mako nods. "The doctor said he'd come back in a bit to give her all the details, so maybe not exactly _right now,_ but you know - soon."

"That's great," Asami says, and her smile looks impressively brighter. "It'd be great to get out of here, even though I haven't been here that long," she laughs, and I grin.

There's a small knock on the door and the doctor from last night pops his head in politely as we all turn to watch the man. "Miss Sato?"

"Right here," Asami waves and the doctor comes in.

"As your friends might have told you already, you luckily aren't in bad shape, so I think it'd be safe to say that you can leave today, if you're feeling up to it." He chuckles, tapping his pen on his clipboard. "Which I'm pretty sure you are," he adds.

The doc lays down a few things for Asami, telling her that she should rest and take it easy for a while. You know, not do anything too strenuous and things like that, and in the case that she does happen to feel strange or something then to come back immediately to check and see if anything might still be wrong. I know that Asami must have been unconscious for a while last night (when me and the others were waiting for her outside the room), but the doc said that he did a few brain scans on her and she seems alright. Just got bonked a little hard on the head, thank god. I don't know what I'd do if anything worse happened to her…

"Make sure you take care of yourselves, alright?" the doctor asks as he begins backing out into the doorway. He shakes a finger at me and the others. "And I hope you all make sure she takes the proper precautions since you all heard what I explained, okay?"

We all nod but Bolin for some reason has to go one step further and pronounce his mild (sorry Bo) idiocy, while the four of us just giggle. "Rightio sir, we'll make sure to keep an eye on her."

"Thanks." The doctor laughs. "Take care and don't go getting into trouble."

Aaaand there goes Bolin again… "Definitely not, sir, we will not get into any trouble so don't you worry."

The doctor, bless his heart, just smiles and closes the door behind him as Bolin continues chatting away with the man who is no longer there.

"Well!" Asami pats at the sheets and we all turn toward her and her enchanting smile, which I know has got all of us instantly enraptured (well, I know I am). "I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting out of here." She easily pulls back the bedsheets and swings her legs over the side of the bed, standing barefoot on the tile which looks like it would be freezing cold. "I have to make a quick phone call, so if you'll excuse me for a short moment… I'll meet you outside when I'm done, if that's fine with you."

"Oh, uh sure," I quickly say, and the four of us (me and Mako and Bolin and Opal) start filing out of the room to give Asami some privacy.

Mako shuts the door behind us. "Well, it looks like she might be all ready to go then. She seems okay."

"Yeah," I say, looking back at the blinded room behind us. I wonder what kind of phone call Asami's making, and to whom? Maybe it might be her dad… But after what she told me last night, I don't think she'd feel like talking to him after what he did.

"Hey!" Bolin sides up next to me and wraps a big burly arm around my shoulder again, poking me in the ribs with his other hand. "Wanna ask Asami if she wants to get something to eat after?" he says, wiggling his brows.

I crack a grin. "I think _you're_ the one who just wants to go get something to eat."

"Pssshhh! That's crazy talk!" Bolin waves a hand at me.

"And if I remember right, Mako said you had a whole tub of ice cream to yourself last night. Honestly, that's kinda sickening," I pull away from him and Opal laughs.

"But I was eating my feelings because I was so heartbroken over Asami," he replies. "It didn't even feel like a whole carton of ice cream. Maybe more like a double-decker cone, or maybe a jumbo-sized waffle bowl…"

"Whatever," I chuckle. "We can ask Asami, since you absolutely seem to be starving," I roll my eyes at him before patting his stomach. I'm just making fun of him, but Bo is actually pretty ripped - he works out a lot, and I think he might have even said that he plays football at his college. I can't really remember though. "You're so thin!" I mock.

"I know, right?"

After a few more minutes of meaningless and mindless banter Asami steps out of the room, smiling that beautiful smile of hers as if nothing so horrible had even happened last night, and I have to wonder who exactly she might have been talking to just a moment before.

"Alright, I think I'm set." She brushes her hair back a bit and wraps the flannel I gave her tighter around her thin body before grabbing my arm.

I eye her for a moment. "You sure you'll be fine, Asami?"

"Mhm," she nods and begins pulling me down the hall as the others follow beside us. "I'm fine."

* * *

 ***sighs and deflates into desk* ahhh... school starts up again tomorrow... i wanted to get this one out before though, cause i don't know how my new schedule will be. i hope things won't get too busy, and then everyone will be happy (or at least i hope they will be, haha). xD**

 **once again, thanks for reading/faving/following, and don't forget to leave a review (thanks to all of you who did last chap!)! :D**


	19. Chapter 19

**asami pov, folks.**

* * *

 **What I Want**

"I didn't look that bad, right? When we went inside." I flick my hair back some before catching a strand and inspecting it, and just as I thought - there's a bit of dried blood in it, but it's not that noticeable. I scratch it off.

"Are you kidding me?" Korra laughs, and I look at her. "You always look good." She blushes, and I want to lean over right then and there to place a kiss to her cheek but I tell myself she needs to concentrate and keep her eyes on the road. The last time when we tried that while we were driving it almost ended pretty badly, and I just got out of the hospital, so no thank you.

I wave a manicured hand at her. "Oh stop it…"

"I'm being serious!" she smiles playfully, and I grin back. "Aside from the big band-aid on your head, you look great. Hotter than July."

"Wow, thanks for reminding me about this obnoxious piece of tape on my forehead that makes me look like a nerd."

"You are a nerd."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

We continue on down the freeway in comfortable silence until Korra speaks up. "Um, Asami, if you don't mind me asking…" She furrows her brows together, introducing a concerned look to her usually carefree features. "What… What was that call you made at the hospital about? I know I'm being kinda nosey, but you seemed a bit edgy after that, and it kinda got me wondering."

"Oh… that." I look out the passenger's window, watching the sun peep every now and then from behind the thick clouds floating across the sky. I thought I might have seemed a little apprehensive, but I didn't want to talk about it then. Or when we went out for breakfast either. Not when the others were around. "It was my dad."

Korra gasps and turns toward me quickly before switching her focus back to the road. "What?! Really? What happened? What'd he say?"

"He wanted to know why I wasn't home, and that he wanted to speak to me… But I'm not going back home, and I told him that. Of course he was furious, but I don't care."

"Do you…" Korra's voice is hesitant. "Do you think he wanted to say sorry?"

I shrug. "I don't know, but I'm not about to go back anytime soon. Talking to him just upset me, so I wanted to get out of there as fast as I could."

"Does he know that you got into an accident?"

"Yeah… It turns out the crash was kind of in the news," I frown and stare at my hands, which I've moved to my lap. "And he said that he found out while he was still at the meeting. I'm glad he didn't come though, because I wouldn't have wanted to have seen him anyways." After a few seconds then I add something else. "I don't think I could have handled seeing him after what he did."

"I-I'm sorry to hear that," Korra says solemnly, and things are quiet once again.

"You don't have to be, it wasn't your fault," I smile. "I didn't actually _just_ talk to my father, though."

"You didn't?"

"No," I smirk, my mood lifting. The few minutes I spent in the hospital room this morning with a cell pressed to my ear weren't exactly all that bad. As a matter of fact, some of it was actually pretty bright and made me feel much better after being stuck in that bed for a while. "I asked you guys if I could have a little privacy because I wanted to call up a friend of mine."

"You have other friends?" Korra asks, pretending to sound shocked.

"Well, kind of - he's a good friend of mine, but technically we met through business relations, so I guess it might not be the way people normally meet others… Anyways, his name is Varrick. I asked him to take care of my car for me, as well as perform a few errands."

"Oh." Korra nods her head. "Yeah, I didn't know what happened to your car after the accident. And then your things… We won't have to go back to your house to get those, will we?"

Korra looks worried, and I'm sure it's because she figures things will get bad if we go back to my house and my dad's there waiting for me to dish out whatever he thinks I probably deserve.

"No, not at all." I shake my head and continue smiling. "Varrick's got it all taken care of."

Korra chuckles. "Haha, this Varrick guy sounds like he's pretty reliable."

"Oh trust me, he is," I reply. "I asked him if after he retrieved my car if he could drop off my things at your house, if that was fine. I gave him your address."

"Oh, uh, yeah - that's totally fine. I just don't know if my parents found your stuff or anything," Korra laughs nervously. "I think they might be home today."

"I hope you asked them if I could stay," I laugh. "I don't want to barge in unannounced with a big favor to ask, haha."

Korra takes a hand off the steering wheel for a moment, waving it in response. "No, definitely not, haha! I asked, and they said they were totally fine with it, so I'm sure they'll figure it's your stuff if they see it doesn't look like mine. Your stuff or something shipped from FedEx."

"I don't pack my clothes in shipping boxes. It's too risky," I say, my voice hinting at amused. "You never know who can get ahold of that expensive lingerie."

"Please don't tell me you packed expensive lingerie."

"And what if I did?"

"I'd immediately go to the nearest laundromat and demand for them to stick me in one of the machines so that I can give myself a good brainwash."

I can't help but start busting out into a fit of laughter at Korra's reply. "Hahaha - You -" I breathe out. "You can't be serious." When I look Korra's way I immediately notice she's blushing. Hmm… I wonder why? "You're thinking about my expensive lingerie, aren't you?" I lean in and trace a finger down Korra's tan jaw line, and I can see her muscles tense at my touch.

"N-No I'm not," she stutters.

"I think you are," I grin devilishly.

I'm about to turn her face toward mine when Korra exclaims excitedly, "Oh hey! Look, we're here!"

I slump back in my seat with a disappointed sigh, feeling a bit embarrassed that I hadn't been paying attention to how close we were to Korra's house. I look over to her and she has a large grin on her face, and I can almost see words written on her like 'You didn't manage to get away with kissing me while I was driving, mwahaha'. Even so, I can't help but forgive her because of that absolutely dopey smirk.

Korra's the first to get out of the car. "Hey, is this your stuff right here?" She points to a large suitcase made of leather, one that's been a keepsake in my family for many years. It actually used to belong to my mom; I thought I'd take it to have something to remind me of her.

"Yeah, that's it." I close the side door and walk over to Korra, who then attempts to pick up the large suitcase filled with all my belongings. It actually took me a really long time to get everything I thought I might need/want in there, and even longer to lug it all the way to the car. A few of the butlers at the estate had offered to help me carry it, but I refused their requests. I didn't want them to be asking me too much about why I was trying to push such a big object down the empty hall.

"Korra - you don't have to pick… it… up…" The rest of the words fall out of my mouth incredulously as I watch Korra effortlessly pick up the suitcase.

She laughs from behind the large object. "Someone's gotta move it - it's not gonna put itself inside, haha."

I stare awestruck at the mighty Korra for a few seconds before realizing she probably wants me to open the door for her. Duh Asami.

"Uh, let me get the door for you -"

"Thanksies."

Korra steps into the house with me right behind her, and she walks over to the staircase, beginning to trek up to her room. God, I don't know how she does it - seriously, I thought that thing weighed a ton.

"Mom, dad, I'm home and I brought Asami," Korra says loudly (to the unknown whereabouts of her parents), her voice slightly muffled by the suitcase in front of her.

There's no reply, but Korra doesn't seem fazed by the quietness.

"They're probably still asleep," she laughs, and I open up the door of her room for her to enter. "Here we go." She easily places the suitcase down on the floor near the foot of the bed before placing her hands on her hips and smiling at me. "You're all set, Miss Sato."

"Thank you very much," I smile back and look around. It's been a little while since I've last visited Korra, but her room looks exactly the way it was the last time I came.

Messy: like a tornado unjustly hit only this area of the house. Which is impossible, but could be entirely true if you ever saw her room. Still, it's a comforting messy that screams Korra's name at you wherever you happen to look - from every half-opened dresser drawer to the socks and jeans lying on the floor to the empty water bottles and energy bar wrappers.

"You're very welcome," Korra grins, taking a seat on her bed and looking up at me. "Feel free to unpack and put things wherever you want - the bottoms drawers of the dresser don't have anything in them, and there's room in the closet too."

I grin at her and look around a bit before leaning down to open up my suitcase, but I'm suddenly brutally pushed back by a fuzzy creature the size of a mammoth.

"Naga!" I laugh, Korra's dog trying to plant slobbery kisses all over my face. "How've you been, girl?"

Naga's response is initially a positive one before Korra tugs her off me, chuckling at the white animal's enthusiasm. "Geez, Naga… Don't do that to Asami! You need to eat your breakfast, not Asami's face."

I stand back up and laugh while Korra drags Naga out the door.

"I'm gonna go feed her really fast, and then I'll come back to help you unpack, if you want any help." Korra has a couple of fingers curled tightly under Naga's collar, and gives me a wave before heading out the door and back down the stairs.

I decide to head over to the bathroom and wash my face to rid myself of sweet Naga's friendly kisses. I grab a clean towel rolled neatly on the counter and dry my face, and when I drop the towel I stare at my reflection for a moment.

I have to admit that I don't really look as bad as I thought I would have; I wasn't really taking Korra seriously in the car, because of course she's too sweet to say anything mean about me. I tried looking myself over in the mirror at the ladies' room when we picked up breakfast, but I didn't spend as much time there as I would have liked fixing myself up.

Yep, I really need to take a shower and get out of these clothes. After that, I should feel completely refreshed and ready to take on the world.

I head back to Korra's room, and when she gets back I ask her if I can take a shower. She shows me where the bath towels are, and tells me the rest of the shampoo and bath supplies should already be in the bathroom (since I'll be here for a while, it's best to know where things are, haha).

"I'll just be here, trying to tidy up," she motions to the majority of her living space, "I don't want you tripping on anything and ending up in a full-body cast," she laughs, rubbing the back of her neck.

I lean against the doorframe and giggle. "And why would I end up in a full-body cast after tripping on a pair of dirty socks?"

"Well, those socks aren't called dirty for nothing. They can have real sneaky plans up their sleeves."

"Korra, socks don't have sleeves. That'd be shirts."

Korra makes a raspberry sound and waves a hand at me. "Whatever… Same thing."

I shake my head and make my way back to the bathroom, carefully closing the door behind me. I stand in front of the bathroom mirror and look up at the band-aid on my head, tracing a finger over it gently.

I really want to take it off.

But dear god, I hate that feeling of fear mixed with the nervous anticipation of pain/discomfort when you're about to pull something like that off your skin.

Come on Asami, you got this.

I pull up the edge of the band-aid slightly.

After an eternity of hesitation and my entire being absolutely filled to the brim with previously mentioned terrifying sensations, I release a deep breath.

I can't rip it off, stupid - that'll leave an even bigger mark.

No, I've got to take this one off slowly and gently to minimize the effects.

Jesus, I sound like some kind of scientist doing chemistry experiments or something.

Yeah, Korra was right. I am a nerd.

It turns out taking the band-aid off was the most of my troubles, and the rest of the time spent in the restroom goes by relatively smoothly, thank god.

I step out of the shower feeling like Asami Sato 2.0 - new and improved. I throw on a pair of shorts and a loose t-shirt I've brought with me from my house, and spend a few minutes drying my hair with the blow dryer.

I add a bit of topical antibacterial to the gash on my forehead and grimace, feeling the applied liquid sink into the open area of flesh and create a stinging sensation. I really hope that this cut heals soon and doesn't leave a scar or anything.

Afterwards I apply a new band-aid to the wound, and make my way back to Korra's room after leaving my clothes in the laundry room. I'll make sure to do those later.

"Well look who's back."

Korra's sitting up on her bed with her phone in hand. I take a quick look around the room and surprisingly it looks much cleaner than it did before I left to take a shower. She must have been hard at work while I was gone.

"Bo and Ope and Mako say hi," she smiles, waving her phone at me and I walk over to the bed and take a seat across from her, the soft mattress warm against my bare legs.

"That's nice of them," I say, looking at Korra although she doesn't have her eyes on me. Rather, they're on the screen as I figure she begins to type away a response.

"Bo sent a snap of him and Ope playing a trick on Mako. Wanna see it? It's hilarious."

I lean forward and slowly begin crawling on my knees toward Korra, who's still looking at her phone. That girl needs to put that thing away, I think to myself, and feel like shaking my head. She never knows what's happening when that thing is in her hands.

But then again, maybe it's better if I take her by surprise this time?

"It's really funny… They did the Oreo cookie filled with toothpaste trick. You ever heard of that?"

I stop mere inches away from Korra's face, and when she doesn't hear me reply she looks up. I grin at her, and instantly red starts creeping onto her cheeks.

"A-Asami… W-What are you doing?"

I gently take her phone and place it down on the mattress beside her, slipping my fingers between her own as I press our hands down onto the bed.

"I told you I'd pay you back in full last night, remember?"

Korra's bright blue eyes dart to the side before meeting mine. "O-Oh yeah…"

I move a hand up to her chest and press my palm flat against her torso, carefully pushing her back down so she's lying flat on the mattress. I can't say that I haven't been wanting this for a while, and I thought this might be the perfect time. I mean, we're both together and alone, and I did say I would show her my appreciation last night, didn't I? I'm just keeping my promise.

"You're okay with me doing this, right?" I ask her, running a hand through her hair before settling it on her hot cheek.

I can hear Korra gulp. "I-It depends what it is," she answers in a shy whisper.

"Don't worry." I lean down and press a light kiss to her lips. "It's nothing much."

Making myself comfortable on her stomach I lean into her more, our faces closer than they've ever been in the past minute, and our lips pressed tightly into each other. I tighten my grip on Korra's fingers and her palms are warm against my slightly chilly skin.

Not quite satisfied with the light but tender kisses I press harder, and Korra moans. Mmm… That noise… It's so - so _arousing_. And don't get me wrong, I'm already pretty aroused.

Another moan escapes Korra's lips as she opens her mouth some, and I instinctively take the chance to slip my tongue into her mouth. It's delightfully met by her own warm delectable tongue, hot and wet against my own.

"A-Asami…" Korra says breathily through our kiss, and I hum a reply.

"Mhm… What is it?" My words are soft and flat, being very absorbed in my work at the moment. I can barely even hear myself due to the frequent moans and gasps escaping both our mouths every few seconds.

Korra turns her head to the side and I pull away some, a bit out of breath. Our eyes meet, and I raise an eyebrow.

"What is it?"

Her blue eyes stare at something above my head for a moment before she squeezes them shut, an incredibly cute grin splitting her face.

And then she giggles. It's probably the cutest, most adorable sound I've ever heard.

"I can't take you seriously with that band-aid on your head." Korra slips her hand out from under mine and places it on my forehead, softly brushing it over the patch of plastic.

I blow at her hand and she pulls away. "Geez Korra, I was trying to be sexy…"

"Haha, I'm sorry." Korra laughs again, but I'm not really mad with her. A little annoyed, maybe, but nothing serious at all. And she's probably right anyways - I don't think anyone can take me sexy-serious with a band-aid that's literally the same size as a billboard. Might as well write 'Get well soon' on it like some kind of cast. Or even better, use it for advertising.

"Sorry," she whispers again, and wraps her arms around my neck, pulling me closer to her as I pout. "I won't say anything else."

"Okay," I say into the kiss Korra places on my lips, this one gentle and gossamer-light.

Korra's strong arms rest themselves on the back of my neck and her fingers dance over the skin that's become incredibly hot and sensitive to her touch.

I'm shocked when Korra's tongue enters my own first, instead of the other way around, but I don't care. It feels good, and I know she's probably been wanting this too, even though she's always been the more reluctant one to act in our recent relationship. I know it's because she's kind of shy and timid about being forward, where I'm more of the daring type.

But still. I like this brave side of Korra - it's kind of hot (although I'm sure she'd say otherwise).

With Korra running her hands across the nape of my neck up and down, I'm becoming a bit antsy and I feel the need to do something with my hands as well. I slowly bring them down to her side, resting them along the rim of her jeans for a moment. My curious fingers run along the edge before coming to a halt at the middle near her navel. I extend my hands, stretching them flat against her stomach, and I can feel her skin burn through her thin tee.

I hesitate for a millisecond before my hands dive beneath her shirt and rest against her skin, the soft smooth skin that's burning a hundred degrees (and is making my temperature rise as well).

The curve of her hip bones prod against my roaming hands, and I draw my palms over her stomach, Korra pulling me in deeper to the kiss as I moan with pleasure.

"Korra…"

I hear a creaking sound behind me, something similar to the sound of a door opening, and Korra and I instantly freeze.

"I'm wondering if maybe you'd like pancakes today. Or maybe you might be more into waffles?"

My mouth is dry as I watch Korra's mother rub her tired eyes and yawn, one hand on the side of the doorframe and the other loosely around the doorknob.

"I'm feeling maybe more a waffle kind of vibe today…"

I don't know what to think right now. The woman standing literally right in the doorway doesn't seem to know that Korra and I have just been performing an intense mouth-to-mouth exercise (or maybe that's my subconscious telling me I should say Korra passed out and I was simply resuscitating her).

It's when I notice that Korra's mom has her eyes closed that I'm pulled down into Korra's chest somewhat violently, my face comforted by the softness that I probably shouldn't even be considering at such a time as this.

"Uh, yeah mom, waffles are totally fine."

The woman yawns loudly again, causing me to question which is louder; my own heart beating or the sound of Korra's which I feel is about to pound right out of her chest.

"'Kay. See you downstairs then."

The door closes behind Korra's mom abruptly for someone who I suspect just got out of bed, and I remain silent, hoping that she's gone.

We don't hear anything else for what seems to be a few minutes of my face pressed tightly into Korra's bust, and I think I'm about to black out when Korra releases me from her hold and I bolt up, gasping for air.

I take in about four gallons of oxygen and look down at Korra, who's simply staring dumbfounded at the now closed door.

"What - What just happened?" I say between breaths.

"My mom," Korra answers. "My mom just happened."

"Yeah, but…" I lift my leg off from over Korra and roll over onto my side, dropping flat on the bed beside her. "Was it just me, or did she totally miss what we were just doing?" I don't know why, but I find myself smirking and I turn to Korra, who's now also flat on the bed, her blue eyes fixed on the ceiling.

"I honestly don't even know." She turns to look at me, and there's a lively, excited spark in her sky-blue gaze. Her eyes close and she smiles, and then her smile grows wider and wider and wider - until it's a full-on grin again, and Korra's belting out in laughter, clutching her stomach with both hands.

Korra's contagious laughter soon affects me, and we're both rolling around on her bed holding our stomachs.

When we stop we find ourselves facing each other, panting heavily as we try and regain our lost oxygen, stuck in similar curled up positions with our knees tucked close to our chests.

"That was absolutely hilarious," I say, wiping away at a few tears.

"You'll probably have to deal with weird stuff like that for a while if you're staying here." Korra reaches up to tuck some loose hair behind her ear before giving me a small but incredibly charming grin. "Now that I think about it, she wears glasses for most things, so I don't think she actually saw what we were doing. Or if you were here at all." Korra chuckles. "She was literally blind."

Korra's hand floats down the remainder of the bed to meet my own in a shy clasp, one that I embrace tightly. "Pancakes or waffles today?" Korra says in a high voice, trying to imitate her mom but failing miserably. "I don't know why, but I'm feeling this kind of waffle vibe going around - it might actually mean something…"

I giggle and Korra drops the facade. She scrunches up her eyes again as she laughs, and when she opens them I'm met by her startling bright blue. Her eyes were the first thing I noticed about Korra the day we met. How blue they were… It wasn't a blue I'd seen anywhere else before, but after moving here it instantly brought to mind the beautiful clear California skies that come a la mode with a sunny day.

And trust me, with Korra here, I'm looking forward even more and more to those clear, cheerful days.

"I want to go pick up Korra sometime soon. I asked Varrick to take care of her," I say as I squeeze Korra's hand, and she frowns at me.

"What? You want to pick me up?"

"Korra. She's my car. I named her after you."

Korra blinks a couple of times before coughing out a surprised laugh. "You named your car Korra, after me?" she asks, giving me a strange look.

"Mhm. I thought a lot about it, and I decided a few seconds ago. But it makes sense, because if I want to go somewhere I just say 'I'm going to ride Korra', and you know, we'll go for a spin," I wink, and Korra gives me a playful slap on the shoulder.

"You're weird." Korra wraps an arm around my waist and tugs me closer to her until our shoulders are touching.

"Riding you would be nice though, I'd have to admit that," I smirk, and Korra turns a deep shade of red.

Korra bows her head to cover her face with the side of her arm. "Asami, you talk so nonchalantly about that…"

"About what?" I ask, although it's so obvious what the answer is. I just want to hear Korra say it out loud, hehe.

"Y-You know…"

Maybe she needs a little help out. "Doing the thing?" Oh god, now that I think about it, isn't that what Varrick says everytime he wants Zhu Li to do something? I know he doesn't mean it like that, but those are pretty much the exact same words that came out of my mouth right now.

Korra brings her eyes back to me after I finish explaining what she was too scared to say. "Yeah. That."

I frown. "Are you okay with that? I mean, I'm just joking of course, haha. It's not like I'm suggesting anything - at least not right now, if you're not comfortable with it."

I lock eyes with Korra, and she stares back at me intently - _honestly_. "It's not that I'm uncomfortable with it…"

"Then what is it?" I want to know what's bothering her. Obviously there's something wrong when I mention sleeping together, but of course I'm just joking. I thought she knew that.

Korra looks away with her brows furrowed and her face flushed.

Oh wait a minute… That's the same face she had in the car when I mentioned my underwear. And that's the same face she had when I was joking about us at the hospital too, when Bolin had that little speech slip up.

"You… You're comfortable with the thought, aren't you?" I smirk as I sit up, releasing Korra's hand and crossing my arms across my chest as I stare down at her lying bashfully with her face against the comforter. "You get _uncomfortable_ with how _comfortable_ you are with the idea. Isn't that right?"

Korra stiffens and rolls onto her front, a short nod of her head answering my questions. "It bothers me how cool you are about it…" I hear her say, voice muffled voice by the mattress. "I'm such a perv…"

I smile. "It's okay. I like pervy Korra."

Korra's head tilts to the side and she looks up at me with an heavily embarrassed look on her adorable face. "Y-You do..?"

"Yeah," I shrug. "She's a part of the girl I fell in love with." I move over to the side of the bed and swing myself over the edge, standing up and placing my hands on my hips authoritively. "Plus, I would consider myself to be pervier than you, so don't feel bad."

Korra pushes herself up to sit on her legs in a criss-crossed position all astutely and straight, like a mature little kindergartener (which I totally wish I could see - I'm sure a four-year-old Korra would give me a cuteness overload).

"That's why you were trying to get your hands up my shirt, weren't you?" she asks, pointing a finger nervously at me as I grin back.

"I thought you didn't mind."

Korra looks away quickly. "..."

"It sounded like you were actually enjoying it."

"..."

I want to stay there a little while longer and watch Korra pout on her bed, cross-legged and so incredibly cute - but I force myself to walk to the door. I turn the knob and step into the hall.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to go tell your parents that I'm here, since they obviously didn't see me making out with you so passionately just a few minutes ago," I chuckle as Korra's face deepens in color yet again.

"D-Don't leave without me, you butthole." Korra jumps off of the bed and runs up to me, and I grab her hand. She looks at my grinning face before puffing out her cheeks. "I'm going to have to deal with your teasing everyday, aren't I?"

"You most likely are." I smile at her, and then something catches my attention - a warm, inviting smell wafting up to the second floor from the downstairs kitchen. "Is that the waffle vibe I smell?"

Korra quickly lets go of my hand and jumps down the stairs suddenly, calling back over her shoulder in a manner similar to my previous reply: "It most likely is!" She pivots on her heels at the bottom, a hand supporting her as she seizes control of the railing at the end of the staircase. "Catch you later, 'Sami." I see Korra wink at me before she sprints off to the kitchen and I lose sight of her.

I shake my head and laugh, trotting down the stairs at a civil pace as to not cause as much ruckus as my carefree girlfriend.

If I'm going to stay here for a while, then I need to show more decency and respect (and don't forget maturity) than the girl who already lives here.

Taking that thought into consideration, I don't think it'd be a very hard task.

Or wait - I could be wrong.

It'd be an easy task - if I can keep my hands off Korra, that is.

* * *

 **hope that this was an enjoyable lil' chapter. it was kind of fun writing this one (not saying that i'm bored writing this story, heck, i love writing this story! xD) and i'll have to admit that i was kind of hoping to tease you there with that sexy asami and make you get the idea she might have really done it.**

 **but it's asami, so we know korra is in good hands.**

 **literally. *starts laughing evilly at her own pun***

 ***ends her maniacal laughter and is now breathing heavily* phew... sorry about that. anyways, thanks for reading! :)**


	20. Chapter 20

**sorry for not updating for a while. i wasn't feeling very good the past couple of weeks, and only really got back into the writing mood a few days ago.**

* * *

 **T** **he Negotiation**

When I walk into the kitchen I see Korra sitting in one of the chairs at the dining table, her arms lazily draped over the backrest as she munches on a piece of toast. Her mom is busy making those waffles she was talking about earlier, and I stop by the table where Korra is, shuffling my feet a little.

I cough and Korra looks at me.

"Mm?"

I nod at her mother, who I'm assuming doesn't know I'm here. "Aren't you going to tell her anything?"

"Uh, you want me to?" she says after swallowing.

"Well, it might be nice," I smile at her, and she rolls her eyes. I know I was the one who prompted Korra to come downstairs after I said I would tell her mother I'm here, but now that I think about it maybe it might be a little more understandable (as well as not as awkward, in a way) if Korra told her I was here instead. You know, since she didn't even know I was in Korra's room this morning… It'll seem more natural, I think. Not like I just magically materialized out of thin air.

"Hey mom…" Korra gets up from her seat and walks over to the woman busy near the stove, where she's set up one of those waffle makers and is busy cranking them out. "Asami came over this morning. I don't think you heard us when we came in, but she's here - just so you know."

The woman's eyes widen for a moment and she looks up. "Really? I didn't see her yet! Where is she? I want to say hi to her, she's such a sweet girl -"

It's easy to tell Korra's a bit irked at her mother's cluelessness but nonetheless she grabs her mom's arm and pulls her over to me. "She's right here."

"Um, thank you for letting me stay here with you - I don't know how to thank you, but all I can say is that it's very generous of you t-"

My words are lost as Korra's mom wraps me into a hug, and I freeze immediately. "Honey, oh, don't you worry - we're happy to have you! It's so nice to see you too, and I know that you're going to take good care of Korra -"

Korra's mom keeps on talking but honestly after her last statement all I can do is lock eyes with Korra on the other side of her as we blush simultaneously. I raise an eyebrow at Korra, and she looks just as surprised and confused as I do.

Korra's mom pulls away with an incredibly wide smile on her face, one that looks very similar to the one that Korra's always wearing. "I know I can trust someone like you" is all I hear her say as she pulls away.

"Uhh…" I laugh embarrassedly, which is very unlike me, and tuck away some of my hair behind my ear. "Yeah… I'll take good care of her, haha."

Korra's mom heads back over to the waffle maker, which I think she's left closed for too long because a strong and unappetizing smell wafts out the sides in streaks of smoke.

"Oh rats!" She quickly flips the top and fans the smoke with her hand before reaching for a fork and jabbing at the burnt waffle. The kitchen is quiet for a few seconds besides the non-curse words streaming out of Korra's mom's mouth, and then she looks back over at us, the same smile as before still etched across her tan face. "Korra's not that bright, as you already know, so now I can rest easy with someone like you around -"

"Mom!" Korra butts in, face red.

I laugh, relieved to see that Korra's mom was actually getting at Korra's supposed mental inferiority. I know she's not the brightest, but that's definitely not what I was expecting to hear from Korra's mother, of all things. It's actually kind of like comic relief.

"Would you girls like some waffles?"

"Mom, don't go changing the subject after you clearly degraded me in front of my friend-"

"I'm sure you must be hungry."

"Mom, you're not listening to me…"

"Here you go, darling," Korra's mom hands me a plate with two waffles on top, and spins me around in the direction of the dining table. "Eat up, okay? Tell me if you want any more after those - I'd rather give you more than give more to Korra, she's literally a bottomless pit. I remember that last time I went to the buffet with her... Things didn't turn out so well."

Korra groans out another complaint, and I grin as I slide into one of the chairs at the table and pick up a fork set aside. Even though we previously went out for breakfast after Korra and the rest of the Krew (as Bolin has started nicknaming our little group, in honor of Korra bringing us together) came and rescued me, I think it'd be polite to show Korra's mother my appreciation for letting me stay here with them. Plus the waffles smell really good.

I cut a piece of the waffle away before stabbing it with my fork. "Thank you, Mrs. - ?" I call over my shoulder as I turn in my chair, meeting Korra's mother's eyes.

"Just call me Senna, honey." Korra's mother blushes slightly. "I don't want to feel so old with people calling me 'Mrs.' and all that."

Korra stacks a large pile of waffles onto a plate she's gotten for herself out of the cabinet. "You are old though, mom. You have a daughter in college."

"I do, you're right…" Senna sighs sadly, shaking her head. "And I'm pretty sure you're giving me gray hair too, Korra…"

Korra heaves a sigh. "Ughh, _mom_ …"

"Okay okay." Senna unplugs the waffle maker after waving her hand at Korra. "I'll go now, so you won't have to listen to me anymore. Your dad is still sleeping and he needs to get up."

With that Korra's mom leaves the kitchen, and I watch with my mouth full of crispy, syrupy waffle (Korra happens to have blueberry syrup, which I absolutely love to an unfathomable degree) as Korra slides in across the table from me.

I watch Korra as she digs in, her ferocious approach making it clear that she has an insatiable appetite. Korra and I both got breakfast burritos the size of rolled sleeping bags earlier, and I find myself thinking back to not only this morning, but last night too. Blurry images of being rushed through a blinding hallway to the ER resurface, and I frown, the sweet blueberry syrup suddenly not as tasty as before. I'd rather not be thinking about last night right now… But I doubt it's a memory that will fade for a while.

"Hey, wanna go to Varrick's after breakfast?" Korra raises her eyebrows in an expecting manner, also managing to express a look of excitement. Her dopey grin, along with her lips smeared with dark blue syrup, cause me to giggle.

I carefully finish swallowing my food before resting my chin on my hand. "You want to go to Varrick's too?"

"Heck yeah." Korra cuts a slice of waffle about a big as a pizza slice and shoves it into her mouth. "Byou don't fink I wan stay here all bay, boo you?" She says through her waffle, and now I can't help from laughing out loud. "Noh wif 'is woman aroun, nuh-uh. She's alrea'y un too much emotional amage oo me."

"I see what you mean," I nod at Korra's statement, cutting into my waffle as well but making my slice significantly smaller than the piece Korra's just downed. It's better to be careful - safer as not to choke that way. "I wouldn't mind going after breakfast. As a matter of fact, that'd actually be wonderful."

* * *

"Make a left right here, then make sure you go down this really long road coming up." I point straight ahead, and Korra makes the left. "Yeah. The StoneTech building should be right over here."

The road I'm having Korra follow is the one to one of Varrick's multiple company locations, this one being his current headquarters since our company partnership, as well as my father's and my move to California. The building itself is actually very large, due to Varrick having gained so much prosperity during the past couple years. I'm sure he'd have made it this far even if he hadn't have partnered with my family's company, but I don't know if my father would have liked that - Varrick's company being a single, massive unit that was combating ours in terms of capital and prosperity, I mean.

This StoneTech building is thoughtfully in a very convenient area, and is not located too far away from the newest headquarters Future Industries is currently building, which is also the one I mentioned to Korra the first time we met.

I turn to Korra as she runs a hand through her hair. "Wow," she breaths out, eyes wide. "I can't believe I'm actually going to go inside a StoneTech headquarters! I mean, like, this is amazing! Maybe I'll learn some kind of trade secret or something, and then I won't be able to tell anyone, but that might be bad because I could be targe-"

"Korra," I laugh, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Calm down, okay? It'll be fine, I promise."

Korra's cheek caves inward as she bites the inside of her cheek, and I find myself innerly melting at how cute she is when she's worked up about something. It's not as good as how she was when we were making out earlier this morning, I'll say that, but it's still completely adorable. I know, I'm a sucker for cute girls - it's something I only discovered recently the day I met Korra.

"I know Varrick is going to love you," I say, smirking to myself as I stare out the car window, the wind ruffling my hair. "You two are so eccentric and hilarious that I'm sure you'd feel right at home with him." I shrug. "I mean, _I_ do around the both of you. You're both fairly easygoing people, I think."

"You think I'm eccentric?"

"I don't think you're eccentric. I _know_ you're eccentric."

We get to the rear gate in relatively good timing after being on the road that lead to the back for a while. A large gate dominates the scene, the top laced with barbed wire and a security booth stationed right in the center.

Korra begins pulling up to the booth slowly, squinting at the fence and the building that happens to be beyond it as we advance. "Is this place guarded or what…" Korra whispers, and I have to grab the steering wheel with my own hand to keep her from turning the car to the side. At least I know we wouldn't crash if that did happen, just go off the side of the road - we're literally rolling at the speed of an electric cart.

Or maybe an electric cart might be faster. I don't really know at this point.

"State your business."

Korra's eyes immediately whip to the man at the booth, who has the bar down across the drive. I haven't seen him before, but I know he's seen me because as soon as I lean over Korra and give a little wave, the man smiles.

"Ohhh - it's you, Asami Sato!" He rocks back in his chair before standing up, and I notice he's turning a light shade of red. "You've come to visit Varrick, haven't you? He told me he was expecting you sometime soon - didn't know it was going to be now, but that's absolutely fine." He's about to press down the button to raise the bar when he turns back to Korra and I, a worried look on his face. "I forgot that you got into an accident the other night, didn't you? Gosh, I hope you're alright."

I give him a wave and point to my head, more accurately the place where I happen to have a giant band-aid plastered to my forehead. "Yes, thank you for your concern… I'm doing alright, just got a nasty bump on the head, as you can probably tell," I laugh, and the guard chuckles.

"Okay - I'm glad to see that you're better then." He turns back to the set of controls. "I guess I'll let you in now, I'm sure Varrick's waiting for you."

"Thank you, sir," I wave at him and Korra presses down carefully on the pedal as the bar rises, allowing us clearance.

"No problem. Have a nice day, Miss Sato."

Korra parks and we both climb out.

"I guess a lot of people really do know about you and the accident…" She crosses her arms and looks at me with a worried expression similar to the guard's, but I walk past her and grab her arm to pull her along.

"Really, Korra, I'm fine. It was just a small concussion." I don't like the thought of so many people worrying about me, but I know it can't be helped because I'm a semi-famous figure in today's society. A daughter of an elite, opulent man who runs an impossibly large tech company - and who will inarguably become the next successor.

Korra grasps my jacket's sleeve, tugging at it lightly. "I'd still be careful if I were you, Asami. I _want_ you to be careful. Please."

She stops walking, and I feel her hand tug again at my jacket before she wraps it around my arm instead.

We're in the middle of the parking lot, halfway to the garage they keep here at the rear for transportation-related testing. I haven't been to this StoneTech location too many times since before we actually moved here, but since our new residence I've visited Varrick once during the first week living in California.

I swallow the lump forming in my throat, the one that appeared when I first felt Korra's strong but now timid hand clutch my leather jacket. It's somehow painful to see her scared, to see her worried about me.

I stand in front of Korra, asserting my dominance over my current dilemma. I place a hand on Korra's warm cheek. "Korra, please don't worry about me."

Korra turns her head away from my hand slowly, moving her gaze away from mine. "I… I can't help but worry about you, Asami. I care about you." She looks up at me, and I can't tell if my heart's started beating so incredibly fast that I can't feel it or if it's been completely immobilized by Korra's watery blue eyes.

I let my hand fall down to her side, where I find her own and intertwine my fingers with hers. Giving her hand a squeeze I smile. "Please don't cry."

Korra reaches up to wipe at her eyes with the edge of her sweater's sleeve, the tears leaving her eyelashes matted together and slightly damp. She coughs out a little laugh before giving me a lopsided smile. "Ha… I'm - I'm okay now. I wasn't crying though..."

I giggle and use my free hand to swipe my thumb under Korra's eyes, attempting to brush away the last of the tears. "Korra…" I smile sweetly at her, and she sniffles. "You were crying. I saw you," I give a small chuckle and Korra stands up straighter. "Come on," I say, gently pulling her hand in the direction of the garage. "Let's go find Varrick."

Korra continues sniffling slightly as we walk on through the parking lot, and I feel my heart clench at her discomfort. I know I told her not to worry about me, but I guess it's something that can't be helped. And it hurts me too when I see her cry - I'm sure she felt like that when she met me at the gas station the other night, so I think we've both experienced the same feeling of agony.

Entering into the rear garage we look around, and I'm not surprised to see workers wearing the StoneTech company uniform bustling about. There's vehicles of all kinds everywhere, and Korra's eyes immediately take on a fascinating glow as she gingerly holds my hand. I look at her, and her face is bright once again; it's almost like she forgot all about herself crying a few minutes before.

"This is incredible…" Korra stares at one of Varrick's new flight suit contraptions, and I chuckle.

"You really haven't seen anything yet. There's more inside."

"Really?" Korra gasps, and I nod.

"Yeah. But if we want to see more, we have to find Varrick first." My gaze drifts to a large tank-like vehicle to the right side of the testing garage. It's a giant creation made of expensive titanium and steel, just to name a few of the basic materials I recognize. And there, standing on top of the mountain of metal I recognize a proud figure, one barking out orders and pointing at certain areas of the machine.

I seize Korra's hand firmly and pull her in the direction of the large vehicle. "As a matter of fact, I think I've found Varrick."

The two of us sidestep busy workers, careful not to get our heads thwacked by poles of metal or flattened by factory carts and their hasty drivers.

Standing at the base of the machine I wave a hand up at the man who hasn't noticed us yet. "Hey! Varrick!"

Varrick lifts the bulky goggles he had been wearing from over his eyes, letting them rest on his forehead. He immediately grins. "Ah - Asami! You made it!"

Korra leans in close to me, a subtle whisper floating into my ear. "That's Varrick?"

"Yep." I grin. "Don't let his personality fool you," I say as the two of us watch Varrick clamber down from the machine, Varrick pushing aside a few workers who're busy trying to make sure he doesn't fall off the ladder. "He's a genius although he might not seem like it."

Varrick comes to a halt in front of Korra and I, Zhu Li immediately running up to his side. He plucks a dirty rag from his pocket, one covered in grease stains, and uses it to wipe his hands with a clean corner before handing it to Zhu Li. " And I can't help but notice you've brought a friend with you." Varrick grins deviously before wiggling his eyebrows at me. "Is this the person you happened to talk about last night? She has to be - she definitely looks like she's got you wrapped around her finger already, ha!"

"Oh -" I feel my cheeks burn slightly at the mention of what happened last night at the meeting, and the memory of me arguing with my father. Varrick's right, even though I may not have noticed it until now. The reason why I had gotten into that fight with my father wasn't just because I was sick and tired of him trying to rent me out to any suitor he thinks proficient… It was the fact that he still attempted to do so after learning that I was in a relationship, and that he thinks the only serious relationship I've ever had (this one) is something to be labeled as meaningless and irregular when I feel the exact opposite.

"Um, yeah, haha - this is Korra." I try to smile, but I know that my mouth isn't stretching as far as I'd like. The memory of my father's menacing tone and outraged demeanor is still burning in the back of my mind. "She's, um -" It's a bit hard for me to feel entirely positive about introducing my girlfriend to Varrick at the moment, but I press on nonetheless. "She's my girlfriend."

Korra blushes and laughs nervously, making my heart feel not as heavy. "U-Uh, yeah… It's nice to meet you, sir." Korra extends a hand, but all Varrick does is look at it emotionlessly my before slapping his thigh and bursting out into laughter. A number of workers pause for a moment with curious looks on their faces as they watch Varrick cackle and snort like what Korra just said was the absolute height of hilarity.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Korra looks at me with a confused expression as Varrick straightens up, placing a hand his hip.

"You, my girl, make it sound like I'm her dad or something!" Varrick's tone is brimming with amusement, and I realize Korra's blushing harder now. "Which, if you haven't noticed, I am most definitely not," he smirks teasingly.

"You kind of did," I point out, nudging Korra with my shoulder to get her out of her stupored state. "But it's okay." I gently kiss her on the cheek, earning an 'aw' from Varrick.

Varrick reaches over and pats Korra on the back, beginning to walk in the direction of his office (which I know the whereabouts of due to my few previous visits). "I like this one, Asami," he winks at me over his shoulder, and I follow after him, Korra still holding onto my hand. "She's funny."

"Where are we going?" Korra says to me, although I let Varrick answer since I know he can hear her.

"We're going to my office, kid." Varrick reaches out to Zhu Li as she hands him some kind of margarita-looking drink topped with slices of orange and lemon (and there's even a little umbrella in there). He takes a long sip from the crazy straw and hands it back to her, still keeping up his fast pace. "And maybe even give you a tour of the place, if you want."

"You serious?!" Korra practically squeaks, and Varrick laughs again. "Dude that'd be awesome! Like, I don't know what to say, just that it'll be amazing -"

"Great. Then I'll give you a tour later."

Korra turns to me as she bites her bottom lip, and she lets go of my hand to do a few fist pumps into the air in various directions. She narrowly misses an incoming worker.

"Korra," I giggle, giving her a light shove with my hand before walking through the garage exit behind Varrick and Zhu Li. "Mind your manners, would you?" I ask her mockingly, and she cringes.

"Sorry! I'm just really excited - I can't help myself."

We walk down a very long and very wide hallway, littered with even more StoneTech workers and researchers scuttling about.

"My office is just a little ways up ahead," Varrick says more to Korra than to me, since he knows I've been here already. "Ah - here we are!" Varrick stops in front of a tall metal door, the name 'VARRICK' splayed across the very front in powerful black letters. Under the large letters is a smaller line of print, not as noticeable or easy to read unless you actually take the time to really look at them. They say ' _I may not always be right, but I am never wrong'_. I swear, every time I read that I have to crack a grin.

"Aaaaand here we are!" The door swings open as Varrick gives it a strong push, heading in with a smirk on his face.

"Woooow… This is so cool!" Korra steps in after me, slowly wandering in small circular loops as she admires Varrick's retro office. Judging from just the door, many would think that the inside would be just as modern and shiny, pristine and clean. You know, leaving no room for anything that wasn't needed. But I've known Varrick for a while, long enough to know that he has a soft spot for all things old-fashioned despite his high-and-mighty appearance. It's one way him and I get along fascinatingly well; we both love things old and refined - they enchant us, so to speak.

Korra walks over to the left side of Varrick's office, lightly fingering the case covering an old engine, one of Varrick's most prized possessions. Both Varrick and I stand beside his mahogany desk, wearing matching grins as we watch Korra spin around dazedly.

"Like it?" Varrick calls out, and Korra heads over to a stuffed bear (I'm not kidding - Varrick's really got a dead bear in his office) where she stops, her jaw dropping in awe.

"It's awesome! I - I never would have guessed it'd be like this from the outside…" she mumbles, and Varrick chuckles.

Varrick leans against his desk, crossing his arms over his chest. "Maybe you'd like to see some more, then?"

Korra's eyes are literally sparkling, and it's clear that she's enjoying herself immensely. "Heck yeah!" She points back to the door. "Are you going to give us the tour now? Cause like, I'm so excited you can't believe it."

Varrick tugs gently on the tip of his mustache, looking fairly thoughtful. "Hmm… Well, I had a few things to discuss with Asami, but maybe Zhu Li could start you off?" His voice trails off, and Korra looks to Zhu Li, who blinks a few times before nodding.

"Oh, um, sure - I can do that." She hugs her tablet tighter to her chest, waving at Korra with her free hand. "Maybe you'd like it if we stopped at the vehicular testing arena we have indoors - it's Asami's personal favorite."

Korra looks back at me ecstatically over her shoulder, and I give her a small wave. "I'll catch up with you later, alright?" I say, and she nods in agreement. "Don't get lost."

"I won't!" Korra calls back. The door to Varrick's office shuts gently behind her as Zhu Li closes it, and I remain silent for a bit in Varrick's comfortable presence.

"Asami…" Varrick says softly, wrapping his arms around me in a tender hug. I don't push him away. He knows how I'm really feeling - this whole thing with Korra being around - he knew that I was just putting up a front for the time being.

"I'm alright…" I whisper, and Varrick pulls away with a frown.

"Kid," he motions to one of the leather chairs in front of his desk but I shake my head, not feeling like sitting down at the moment. "I know you. You're not alright, and you know it."

I sigh in defeat. "Okay, okay, maybe I'm not alright…" My arms, which I've had wrapped around me, suddenly feel the need to extend themselves and I let them fall to my sides brashly. "But let's be honest, Varrick - what can I do? I mean, I upset my father in front of everyone, really, and now I've moved in with my girlfriend, who he happens to hate for no particular reason, and I don't know what to do about any of it!"

Maybe I'm being bipolar but now I feel like sitting, so I throw myself into Varrick's arm chair, pulling up my knees close to my chest. "I just want him to like me for being me." I look up at Varrick, only to see him still frowning. "Is that too much to ask for?"

"Maybe he just needs to realize how important you really are to him," Varrick responds. "Sometimes it takes a while for people to see that they might be wrong about something, kid."

"I guess you would know," A small smirk crawls across my facial features slyly as I think back to the saying on Varrick's office door. "You're never wrong, haha."

Varrick just chuckles. "You betcha, darlin'," he winks, and I let out a tiny laugh.

After our shared joke I sigh again, letting my head loll back against the pillowy armrest. "Ughh… But I don't know what to do! I mean, I'm definitely not going to go back home if he's acting like a jerk, which is pretty often, but you know what I mean - more jerky than normal, if that's even a thing." If Korra were here, I'm sure she'd insert some kind of cheesy comment about beef jerky to lighten the mood. But she's not.

Varrick moves his hands down to the desk's top, wrapping his fingers under the wooden fringe overhanging. "I know you and your father aren't as close as you'd like to be, Asami… And I know that your dad also isn't the easiest person to negotiate with."

"For sure," I begin playing with my hair absentmindedly. "I don't want to be humiliated by him ever again just for being me."

"Maybe we could…" Varrick shrugs, raising an eyebrow at me. "Work something out? You want to be recognized as an prosperous and independent individual to him, and at the same time have him accept you, right?"

I nod. "That's literally it. Nothing else. I don't understand why he doesn't see that as easily as you do."

"I think I might be able to help you, then." Varrick crosses his arms again, an unsuppressed grin splitting his face. "Why don't you work with me?"

I blink a few times and almost laugh. For what reason prompting the laughter, even I do not know. It's just that the idea seems so - simple. Simple yet genius.

"Me - work with you?" I repeat, meeting Varrick's intense blue eyes.

"Why of course!" he exclaims. "Everyone loves Asami Sato, except her father, unfortunately - it's ingenious! We'll make him see what he's missing." Varrick shoots a hand up in the air before bending down next to me, and his excitement is so contagious it's permeating clean through my downtrodden state.

I'd be up for it except for one tiny detail, the only thing that's holding me back from immediately jumping on board with Varrick's idea.

"But Varrick… What about the partnership between our companies? My father… I don't think he'd be happy about it, to say the least."

"So what about our partnership?" Varrick retorts, scoffing. "For all I know, I'm just as successful without your father's company as I am with it. Not that I regret our partnership or anything," he adds at the end politely, bobbing his head from side to side.

"And even if your dad did flip at the thought of you working with me for StoneTech, won't you become the successor of Future Industries sometime anyways?"

Wow, I guess I've never actually thought about it like that before… But Varrick's right. My dad doesn't have anyone else to take over the business other than me, so if he really wants to keep Future Industries in the family, he has no choice but to hand down the company to me so that I become the next CEO.

And I'd actually like that - being the CEO of Future Industries. I mean, if I was in charge of the company, I'd be able to focus more on doing what I love. That means more inventing and less advertising (not that advertising is all that bad - but it's all I pretty much do at the moment).

"Deal?" Varrick extends a hand toward me, and I smile up at him.

"Deal."

* * *

 **please review if you get the chance; it really helps push me forward and gives me some incentive to write/get chapters out faster if you guys are enjoying it. thanks!**


	21. Chapter 21

**and now, may i present to you a korra pov...**

* * *

 **The Mechanics of the Engineer**

"Crap."

I slide my hand under the plastic container hanging on the side of the stall, my fingers desperately grazing the inside of the case for any sign of a savior.

NOTHING.

"Damn… Well ain't that just peachy?" I sigh, and then I hear someone else jostle their own toilet paper container and curse a few stalls over. I raise an eyebrow, and deciding to be friendly I strike up a totally mundane conversation. "You out of toilet paper too?"

The girl/woman in the other stall heaves a sigh, and I can't tell you how much I understand what she's going through. "Yeah… It's the worst."

"Tell me about it," I say, and my eyes fall to the right side of the stall, where I glimpse a very thin roll of toilet paper sitting on the floor of the stall directly beside me. Heck, I can't believe I didn't notice that before.

"Actually…" I pick up the roll, and since it looks like it has about a foot on it I tear myself off about half. "I think I found some - want me to send you some over?"

My new buddy sighs again, this time in relief, and I crack a wide grin. "Oh yes please! God, I hate it when you have to drip dry…"

I chuck the roll across the bottom of the bathroom floor.

"Nice throw! God, you're a lifesaver."

"Haha, sure, no problem. Glad I could help," I reply smugly, standing up and putting to good use my half of what was left on the scarce roll. Oh, thank god… I was starting to worry that I was going to have to use one of those crinkly, hard toilet seat covers - hate that almost as much as I hate drip dry. It's very uncomfortable.

I waltz out of the stall after I flush, and then I head over to the sinks where I smile at myself in the mirror. Hehe, yeah, totally saved a life there.

I turn back to the stall still occupied after I'm done washing my hands before I begin heading out. "You gonna be okay?" I ask, slightly worried about the current state of the other person. I haven't really heard any noises of discomfort or relief or anything sooo~

"Oh yeah, I'll be fine! Just finishing up, haha."

"Oh, okay - sorry if I wasn't able to send you over a lot."

"No worries! I'm just glad I won't have to sit here for an hour until I feel dry, haha. Thanks for your help."

"Sure thing. See you around," I say and head out, and it's only after the bathroom door closes that I cringe at my previous words. Geez, I didn't even see the other person, so how can I possibly see them around if I don't even know what they looked like? God Korra, you can be really dumb sometimes, you know.

I shrug and walk on down corridor, back to the main hallway that goes down the center of the StoneTech building (and also supposedly to the heart of the entire building too, which would be the vehicular testing arena if I remember right what Zhu Li said). Zhu Li was literally waiting for me right here, at the entrance to the main hallway, but she isn't here anymore.

A bright flash of light catches my eye, and I see some StoneTech employees testing some kind of (heck, I don't even know, but I'm gonna make a guess here) laser gun thing behind the glass along one of the corridor walls. As a matter of fact, the corridor walls have large clear plexiglass windows dropped randomly along the way as you walk, and this one so happens to be in front of me. Although I really do not remember it being there before.

Could that mean I'm… lost?

I shake my head and keep on walking. Nah. Zhu Li's probably the one who's lost. I definitely probably didn't notice those cheering StoneTech scientists earlier on my way to the bathroom because I had to go so bad. Yeah, that would make sense.

I should probably just follow this yellow brick road down to the vehicular testing arena, which I'm sure I'll stumble upon if I keep on walking down this long, blinding white hallway emblazoned with the StoneTech symbol in sporadic areas (like the windows showing workers high-fiving and fist-pumping).

I walk along a bit more, for an unknown amount of time. All I know is that I've passed a lot of windows, and the jumping StoneTech employees looking significantly more successful than myself have turned my mood a bit sour.

A clear case upcoming on the side of the hallway catches my attention, and I stop in front of it, looking at it seriously. I blink a few times.

 _'Press in case of emergency'_.

I bite my bottom lip. There's a red button underneath the plastic case, which I'm positive I would flip in the state of emergency and give the inviting crimson object a slap. Just one slap wouldn't hurt…

I reach forward.

Wait Korra, this isn't an emergency, is it?

Well, no… But I really want to push that button. It's literally calling my name.

My fingers dance over the plastic case.

 _Bzzz. Bzzz_.

I jump as my rear-end gets a massage. Sliding my hand into my back pocket I grab my phone and look at the screen.

 **Asami:** _hey, are you sure you aren't lost? zhu li's literally going bananas looking for you, haha_

I frown and start typing back my reply.

 **Me:** _that's weird… cause i'm like looking high and low for her - could have sworn she was here a minute ago. was about to call a code adam, haha_

 **Asami:** _yeah, well maybe we should come find you now… you know, since you're lost and all_

 **Me:** _i'm not lost._ :|

 **Asami:** _korra. we all know you're lost_

 **Me:** …

A few seconds later.

 **Me:** _okay… i'm lost…_

 **Asami:** _great. :) we're on our way. ;D_

I'm sure Asami and the others have been tracking my whereabouts by video camera or something because they easily find me within the span of five minutes, while I don't even know how long I've been floating around the hall after I got out of the bathroom.

"There you are." Asami walks toward me with a large smile on her face, and I'm starting to wonder why she looks so cheerful all of a sudden. Maybe it had something to do with the talk she and Varrick had?

Asami wraps an arm around my shoulders and tugs me close, but I frown.

"Hey, what's wrong kid?" Varrick playfully pats my cheek. Thankfully his hands are clean, cause I'm pretty sure they were covered in grease the first time I saw him.

Asami giggles, and I let her reply for me because I don't really feel like talking right now. It's a phase I'll get over soon, but I honestly thought I could do better… "Oh, I'm pretty sure she's just disappointed that she got lost and we had to come and find her."

Varrick waves his hand over the back of his shoulder, Zhu Li by his side, and we continue walking down the corridor. Heck, I'm sure I would've been able to find the vehicular testing arena place if I just kept on walking - but _nooo_ , I had to get 'lost'.

"Whatever." I cross my arms and Varrick laughs, nudging Zhu Li in the side.

"Haha, she's a feisty one, isn't she Zhu Li?" He looks to Asami before laughing again. "You sure know how to pick 'em, kid!"

When I look at Asami I can easily tell she's blushing, and her absolutely gorgeous face adorned by that rarely seen bloom of red across the top of her cheeks is enough to settle my slightly frustrated mentality. I mean, how can I _not_ just stare and admire that priceless expression on Asami's face?

"T-The testing arena is right around this corner, isn't it?" Asami points to our right, her voice quaking some due to her embarrassment, I would think. Heh.

Varrick nods and we make a right at the upcoming turn. "Yep, it's right through this entrance -"

There doesn't appear to be any door or anything, except for a large, inviting kind of entryway that immediately leads into a ginormous dome-spaced area. And do I mean ginormous - it's literally HUGE. There's a large ring of paved road around the inner area of the arena, and it's almost like someone shoved a Nascar road track into the middle of the StoneTech building (if there was someone who was big enough to plop this thing in here). A few StoneTech cars are scattered along the course, and the buzzing hum of their engines echo in my ears as they rush past at speeds that probably wouldn't be allowed on the freeway without the driver getting a ticket.

"Your car's over here in one of the arena garages - I thought it'd be better to put her here rather than in the testing garage at the front," Varrick explains to Asami as I gape in wonder at what's in front of me. "Things tend to get a bit messier over there than they do over here, so it just made sense. Don't want Korra to get more banged up any more than she already is!" he laughs, and I turn to him. I swear my mouth is literally still open, but currently it's more from what Varrick said.

Varrick sees me gaping at him with my aghast expression and he grabs my shoulder, shaking me back and forth amusedly. "Hahaha, I don't mean you, kid - I'm talking about Asami's car, remember?"

Oh yeah. Asami named her car after me. God, that's a relief to hear - I was seriously scared for a moment that I was gonna get banged or something. Geez Asami, couldn't you have named your car something else? Like Bessie or Agnes or something.

Asami's warm hand moves down along my thigh to find my own, and her fingers' lazy touch sends a wave of nausea washing over me as I feel a nervous gnawing begin to claw at the inside of my stomach. Literally, her touch can control me more than I'd like it to.

"Not that you're going to get banged up or anything -" Asami smirks, her breath hot against my ear as she drags me along in the direction of the garage Varrick says her car is in. " _Yet_ ," she adds seductively, and that last word seizes my heart with an unrelenting grip. "Just kidding," she smiles, and I blush.

I'm probably just out of it from Asami's flirting, but the next thing I know we're standing in the garage with Asami's car (I mean, I don't even remember walking here), and she slowly releases my hand to walk over to her black convertible. The front's busted in some, and she runs a hand over the crumpled hood endearingly with her eyebrows furrowed together. Aside from the messed up hood/front of the car the headlights are broken, but other than that there's not really anything else too bad about the state of Asami's convertible. The current state would explain the concussion she got, though, since only the front looks bad (or 'banged up', using Varrick's terminology).

Asami steps back and crosses her arms, a serious look dropping over her face as her glowing green eyes dart back and forth over the front of her convertible.

"It's not that bad, honestly," Varrick steps in beside her, motioning to the car.

"I know," Asami's eyes are still focused on her car, and she hums to herself in thought. "I'm just thinking about how I should start fixing her up."

A loud beeping sound fills the air and I jump. "Wh-What's that?" My voice is kind of shaky, but it's only because that's the kind of noise I would suspect for some kind of accident to have taken place and the whole entire building has to evacuate immediately. People will be running amuck, and heck, I don't even know the safety drill procedure for StoneTech employees - if there's a fire or something, which way do I exit? Am I even gonna live?

"Sir, it looks like there's been an accident in Sector 23-B…" Zhu Li states, tapping away on her tablet. "Apparently the employees testing the prototype for the automatic laser firearm got a little carried away…"

"Flying hog-monkeys!" Varrick exclaims, rushing back towards the entrance of the garage. "That doesn't sound good." He pops his head around the edge of the garage and points a finger at Asami. "I'll leave you for now, kid - gotta run. Let me know if you need anything!"

And then they're gone.

I turn toward Asami, but she's still focused on the her convertible, a hand placed thoughtfully under her chin. She looks kind of absorbed in whatever she's thinking about, so I slowly walk over to her car's side and do a little jump as I grab onto the door, propelling myself over the top and making a graceful landing as my butt meets the leather seat. I sigh happily and sink myself further into the cloud-like leather cushion.

"I'm probably going to have to come in everyday and work on her," Asami says after a moment, and I don't know whether she's talking to herself or to me.

I finally settle for her talking to me. "Why don't you just have Varrick fix her?" God, why am I talking like her car is a person now? And to think I'm talking about a vehicle named after myself. Although I'd rather just call it 'her' rather than by the name Asami gave it. That'd be plain weird. 'Oh hey Asami, when are you going to fix Korra? You banged her up pretty good last night - she's gonna need some care and attention if you want to see her up and running again' or some completely wrong-sounding convo like that. No thank you.

"Well, I thought it'd be nice if I could fix her myself." Asami walks over to the driver side of the car and opens the door slowly, and it creaks as the hinges rub against one another. I don't remember her car doing that before; it must be because of the accident. She slides into the driver seat before closing the door. "I was the one who got myself into this mess in the first place." She places a hand on the steering wheel, wrapping her fingers around the leather. "It'd only be fair."

I guess Asami's reasoning makes sense. She loves engineering too, so I'm sure fixing her car would be like a side-project she could work on when she's free after school and stuff. "Okay. If you say so."

I lie down across the back seats and close my eyes, feeling the cool leather press up against the bare skin on my neck.

"You know…" Asami's voice floats over to me, and I crack one eye open before shutting it again. "I'm going to start working with Varrick."

"Really?" The word escapes my lips in a light whisper. "Sounds nice."

I hear Asami cackle some from the driver's seat. "You sound awfully chill about this."

"That's because I am," I reply, a sleepy smile on my face. I don't really feel like I got much sleep for some reason… I'll probably take a nap or something when we get back home.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that you're fine with it," Asami says to me, and then I hear the slightly awkward sound of leather brushing against another surface, my guess Asami twisting in her seat. "I need someone like you to support me."

I tuck my arms under my head and grin. "Of course I'll support you, Asami."

"You'll stick with me until the very end?"

"Definitely."

"Even if I stumble along the way?"

"Yes."

There's silence. A shallow exhale of breath echoes through the garage. Then I hear the sound of twisting leather once more, and then after that I become curious as to what Asami is doing.

I suddenly feel like something's hovering over me, and being the extremely self-conscious individual I am I crack open one eye again.

And then there's Asami, leaning over the back of the driver's seat reaching toward me with her hand, a soft, warm sensation meeting the nape of my neck before traveling up to my ear.

She gently fingers my jaw line, and the feeling of her fingers grazing my skin in the tenderest manner causes my face to begin heating up. "I love you, you know." Asami's voice is small, but I know she's being completely honest. It's also a bit strange to hear her say it out loud… She's never said that to me before, I don't think - not explicitly. Of course I can tell she loves me by her actions and all the things she does, plus a lot of PDA (although sometimes that can get a little embarrassing).

I reach up to grasp Asami's hand, running my thumb over the the back of her warm, smooth hand. Maybe I should tell her what I was just thinking about. "I don't think I've heard you ever say that to me before," I grin.

"Really?" Asami sounds taken slightly taken aback. Her green eyes move to the garage's ceiling, decorated with cables and strange pieces of equipment, before falling back down to my face. "Maybe you're right. I don't know if I've actually said it either, now that I think about it."

"Yeah… Why haven't you said it before?" The question's actually got me kinda curious now.

Asami's hand drops from my face, and she looks away once again, taking a shallow breath that I hear quite easily within the empty garage. "I - It's been hard for me, I guess. I've been in previous relationships before, and things didn't work out. It wasn't hard for me to understand that I didn't love them, but because of all those wrongs it's made me more resistant and slow to really opening up to people I find myself falling for…" Asami's sincere eyes bore into my own. "You're the first person I've actually loved. That's why it's taken me so long to say it out loud to you, face to face."

I remain quiet. I guess it would make sense - with what Opal's told me about Asami being in previous relationships and everything; who wouldn't want to date Asami Sato, daughter of multimillionaire Future Industries owner Hiroshi Sato? Whether it be for the right or wrong reason, I'm sure Asami's seen pretty much everything in the people she's dated before me.

I shake my head some. "But… But why me? I mean, why date _me_ , Asami?" I ask. It's something I've been wondering about for the longest time. Something I probably should have asked her in the car the night after the incident at the lake, when she drove me home from practice since Opal stole my stuff.

Asami smiles, resting her chin on the back of her hands. "Why not?"

A sarcastic laugh echoes through the garage as I crack another grin, this one due to the simplicity of her answer. "Well, there's a lot of reasons why you don't have to be dating me… I mean, you're like, way out of my league for one thing. And then you're like, super pretty, and crazy hot…" My face burns as I say the last comment, and Asami blushes some. "And then you're also famous and are gonna inherit some world-renowned technology company, you're super amazing, and like the nicest person I've ever met - and literally perfect."

Asami waves a hand at me. "Oh stop it…" She laughs playfully. "You don't see that though, Korra."

"What do you mean?" I frown. "Of course I see it. I just _said_ I see it."

"You're just giving me excuses as to why you don't think you should date me."

"Yeah." I shrug. "Basically."

"Listen, Korra…" Asami says softly, her tone gentle. "You're different. And maybe you don't really realize it right it now, and maybe it might not be that clear as of this exact moment. But I know for sure, because I _do_ see it." She pauses. "You don't see me as some prissy daddy's girl with piles of money. You see me as Asami."

Asami reaches out again to caress my cheek. "And I see you as Korra. I don't like to think about externalities."

"Well, that's good to hear," I chuckle, feeling almost as if Asami's touch alone could easily raise my temperature by a hundred degrees (although that's kind of scary to think about, haha). "Because I'm definitely not someone I'd think would be worth pursuing very much… I have no experience with successful dating whatsoever. And I've never been with a girl either."

Asami's laugh is short and lively, and I'm confused as to why she thinks what I just said was funny.

"What? What's so funny?" I ask her.

"Korra, we're literally in the same boat," she says, and I feel like slapping myself. Geez, she just did say that, didn't she? Maybe not the dating another girl part, but the not really loving until now thing.

I blush, the realization of my stupidity washing over me like it's done so many times before. "Oh, haha, right…"

"You're so cute." Asami squeezes my burning cheek between her fingers and I groan in annoyance (although I do seem to enjoy her touch too… Does that make me a masochist?).

I swat at her with my hand. "D-Don't you have work to do?" I quickly say, hoping that maybe she'll release me from the abyssal thoughts of her I always seem to fall into. Most of the time it happens just by looking into her bright green eyes - it's just so easy to get distracted by them.

"Maybe I could start on the car in a little bit…" Asami grins wickedly at me as she begins clambering over the front seat, and my heart immediately starts racing at a thousand miles an hour. "I'd like to work on something else right now."

"Oh no you don't -" I start backing myself into the farthest corner of the convertible as I can, but there's no escape in here.

Okay y'alls - it's time for abandon ship.

"I'm going to get out of here so that y-"

There's a tight grip around my waist, and one of my legs is over the side of the car door while the other is bent over the seat. Ohhhh this is bad. Very bad.

"Korra, you can't leave me here by myself." Asami's fingers slide into the loops of my jeans, and I even manage to feel one of her hands graze my stomach, sending a chill spreading across my skin like a mini wildfire.

"I-I'm not I'm going to go get Varrick and Zhu Li," I stammer, but I already know I won't get that far. The farthest I'll probably get with these slim fighting chances are outside the convertible, sadly.

"They can wait a bit."

I gulp and turn back to see Asami still smirking at me, and have no choice but to slide back into the car.

Dear lord, please send Varrick and Zhu Li to rescue me soon before it's too late.

* * *

It was probably a few nights later after the first visit to StoneTech that day when I first heard it happen.

It was strange at first; a soft, sobbing sound coming from right beside me, and then, sometimes a few muffled words.

I remember turning in my bed a couple of times, squinting in the dark and wondering if Naga had to go pee again.

When I realized that the figure beside me was shaking my eyes flew open, only to see darkness. I knew it was Asami, but I didn't know why she was shaking - was she cold? Maybe it could be a bad dream.

"Asami?" I remember whispering her name and placing my hand on her shoulder, giving her a gentle shake of my own, but she never said anything back. "Asami - are you okay? Are you having a bad dream?"

Again there was no answer. Everything was pitch black, and I had no idea if she was awake or not - just that she wasn't answering me.

I decided to wrap my arms around her, hoping that maybe she could feel me comforting her as she slept. Her warm body (I figured it was a bad dream she was having because she wasn't cold - she was pretty warm. Or maybe it was me burning up, being nervous about holding her.) quaked within my hold a couple of times, and when I was finally close to falling back asleep I heard it.

It was a couple of words, but I could clearly understand what she was saying. Although I wish I didn't have to hear her say something that made my heart break into so many pieces.

"Mom… I miss you…"

* * *

"Hi." Asami looks at me with both bright eyes and a bright smile, and she slides her hand into my disheveled hair, ruffling it.

"Hey," I grin back.

I don't know whether to tell Asami about me hearing her talk in her sleep. I'm not sure if she knows about it and just hasn't brought it up. It's been a few days, and what's been happening with her has occurred pretty much every night.

Asami pulls my head in closer and places a sleepy kiss on my lips, and I close my eyes as my lips meet hers. I try not to think about the previous thought anymore as I feel her free hand rest on my hip, but no matter how hard I try it's still there, a nagging worry that I wish would just disappear.

Maybe she just doesn't want to talk about it. Maybe she knows and doesn't want me to worry.

Or then again, maybe she doesn't know.

Asami lets go of my lips to take a breath, and her half-lidded eyes have suddenly got me very, very brain-dead. Even more so than my precious mother likes to think I am.

Like, literally. I'm not even there anymore.

Come on Korra, don't let yourself go -

"What do you want to do today?" she asks me, playfully twirling some of my hair on her finger.

"Well, I'm pretty sure we both have class soon," I say, feeling a blush begin creeping up onto my cheeks as her hand slides against my stomach for a quick second, and of which I'm glad doesn't last any longer than a second (because if it did I probably would have lost all my consciousness). "Maybe we should… I don't know… Get ready?" I try in a pleading voice.

Asami releases the tight curl of hair she's managed to wrap around her index before placing her finger on my nose. "Great idea." She winks, throwing back the blankets and sashaying over to the closet. "Oh hey there! Good morning, Naga." She bends down near the foot of the bed to pet my dog, and gives me a nice view of the expensive lingerie she mentioned she owned the day she moved in with me (although I thought she was joking about it - turns out she really wasn't). She stands back up again and the long t-shirt she's wearing falls down to cover her behind once again before continuing on her way, Naga beside her.

I immediately blush harder although I'm sure Asami has no idea (or maybe she does?) and cover my face with the blankets, trying to clear my head.

Ughhhhhh Asami, why do you do this to me…

"You've got to get out of bed too, sleepyhead."

"I will!" I call out, sitting up with the blankets still over me. Ever heard of a blanket burrito? Forget that. I probably look like a blanket wonton.

I hear Asami open the bedroom door and walk into the hall, and when I'm sure she's gone I exhale in relief.

It could be too soon for me to think everything's okay for now - I'm not sure if Asami's expensive lingerie or her nightly sleep monologues will leave my mind for a while.

* * *

 ***sighs*** **i** **was incredibly busy with work this past weekend, and so was only able to get this chapter out now - my apologies.** **h** **opefully the wait was worth it, and that you enjoyed this little chap! (** **b** **tw, the scene in the bathroom was based on a real-life experience, haha)**

 **i** **'m planning on having a little fun with the next chapter, so** **i** **hope you look forward to that too. ;D thanks for reading, and** **i** **'ll see you next time.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Party Implications/Realizations**

I shove another spoonful of ice cream into my mouth absentmindedly, my eyes glued to the screen.

Something wet nudges me in the side and I grab a cookie from the box sitting in my lap, holding it out to Naga, which of course she immediately scarfs down. You wouldn't think I feed her, but that's not the case. I've come to recognize that me and my dog both eat an unholy amount.

"Now stop bothering me for a minute Naga… I really want to see this part…"

I hear the light thudding of someone coming down the stairs, and my gaze shifts to the corner of the dark living room briefly to see Asami before I focus back on the screen.

And then I do a double-take, because something's kinda different about her - she's looking pretty fancy for just a Friday night.

Or maybe it's _I_ never look fancy on a Friday night? That should be a red flag right there.

Asami stands with her arms crossed over her chest next to the couch, the subtle smirk on her flawless face standing out with the addition of her dark red lipstick along with the flickering tv light.

"Uh…" My attention has been fully captivated, and I no longer find myself staring at the screen. Instead I'm staring at Asami in a little black dress that I never even knew she had. "What's going on?" I ask, curious. "You look dressed up."

"We're going to a party tonight," she winks, and I just stare at her, still confused.

Did I hear that right? "What party?"

The doorbell rings, and I whip my head toward the front of the living room.

Now who the heck could that be?

"Korra, sweetie, can you answer the door?" I hear my mom call from the kitchen, and I frown.

I turn back to Asami again, and she shrugs at me, but I don't miss the sneaky grin she still has that's constantly growing wider.

The doorbell rings again, and this time it's followed by the obnoxious knocking of some idiotic person who I'm probably going to have open the door for.

" _Fine_ …" I sigh and place the ice cream carton on the table beside the couch, the pack of cookies falling down on the cushion. Naga immerses herself in the sugar not a second later, and I mentally sigh at the loss of half of my dessert.

Asami follows me to the door and I open it quickly, very much annoyed with the pestering knocking of -

"Hey, wassup Korrie?"

It's Opal standing next to Ikki and Meelo, Bolin and Mako directly behind them. They're all also dressed pretty decently compared to me; both Mako and Bolin are wearing nice polos, Opal's in a casual dress shirt and short skirt (showoff), and Ikki's in a cute dress while Meelo looks like a suited, miniature version of Pitbull.

"What are you guys doing here?" I say to Opal, and she smirks at me. "Like, why are all of you here? With Meelo and Ikki?" I look at Meelo, and he pushes past me, carrying some kind of large, pointed object that I can't really make out what it is exactly because the living room is still dark (I left the lights off, haha).

"We didn't just bring Meelo and Ikki, doofus," Opal remarks, crossing her arms before jabbing a thumb over her shoulder. "I drove here with Mako and Bo. Ikki and Meelo came with Tenzin and Pema."

What the f-

"Hi there, Korra!" Tenzin calls out from farther down the driveway (aaannd I did not see that minivan there a few seconds ago…). Tenzin's helping Pema out of the front passenger seat, and when they close the door she waves at me.

"Korra! Long time no see!" she calls out, and I give her an awkward wave before staring back at the three pairs of eyes level with mine before me.

"I don't get it…" I shake my head, and for some reason I'm kind of laughing. Okay - I _am_ laughing. It's just that this is all so random. "Why are all you guys here?" I'm sure this is like the third time I've asked them this, but no one seems to be giving me an answer.

"We're here for the party!" Meelo exclaims excitedly, poking me in the back of the leg with whatever it is he's holding.

Again, what party is this everyone's talking about, and how come I wasn't invited? I move away from out of the middle of the doorway so my friends can come in, and I walk over to the lamp on the table to turn it on and get a better look at the large object in his hands.

"This is for you." Meelo extends the object in my direction, and I carefully take it while Asami and the rest giggle. Ikki remains silent, but she has this really haughty/smug look on her face like she knows something that I don't. And that's probably true because it seems that everyone knows tons more than I do right now.

I turn the object a few times around in my hands. "It's a piñata," I say. "A rainbow piñata."

"Duh!" Bolin wraps his arm around my neck in an affectionate manner, giving my head a noogie and disturbing my already gruesome hair. "It's because it's for your Coming Out party, Korra - it absolutely _had_ to be a rainbow piñata! At first I was thinking blue or something, or maybe one that was your favorite cartoon character, but everyone else was heckling me and they said that this one would be better."

"I picked it!" Ikki bursts out loudly, waving her hands at me while jumping up and down, and I suddenly feel lightheaded, like I'm going to faint. "I picked it especially for you, Korra - it's special because it has all those sparkly unicorn horns around it!"

"They all have horns on them," Opal states, earning her a slap on the behind from Meelo for God know's what reason while Ikki just keeps on smirking at me. "Why you little - I'm wearing a skirt, you know! That can be considered sexual harassment!" Opal growls at Meelo and tries to grab him, but he wriggles out of her grasp, laughing evilly.

My mind's fuzzy as I remove Bolin's warm arm from off of my shoulder, and I take a step back, bumping into Asami. She grabs my shoulders gently and gives me a comforting smile, something to soothe my wracked nerves as it feels like my whole solar system is suddenly off the post.

"It's okay Korra," she says quietly in a voice I'm sure only I can hear. "You're not going to get in trouble."

"W-Wha… H-How..?"

Asami's green eyes dart back and forth for a moment, scanning my face for what I think is doubt. I'm sure she knows I'm more than worried about this - I mean, what about my parents? And Tenzin? And Pema? They don't freaking know! At least, not yet… Right..?

She's hesitant for a moment. "Your mom wanted to do this for you - she asked me for some help planning it."

" _What_." The word isn't even a question. How can it be? It just doesn't seem possible in the faintest sense.

Asami turns to Opal and the others, who are giving us weird looks while Asami gives me this little pep talk. Tenzin and Pema are barely making it to the door (poor pregnant Pema… I hope the baby's born soon so she won't have to be carrying all that extra weight around), and to make things a little less awkward Asami grabs my arm and begins lugging me away to a clearer space of the living room. "Excuse us for a moment," she laughs nervously. "You guys can go set up everything if you want - let me just talk to Korra for a bit."

"Sure thing," Mako responds as he begins making his way through the living room and toward the kitchen, Bo and Ope and - oh hey, there's Jinora! - and Tenzin's family following behind them. "Bo, you set up the DJ table with Jinora while I go fire up the grill."

Bolin gives Mako a salute. "Rightio, bro." He motions behind him to Jinora, who's pushing a large case through the doorway, grunting due to the effort of moving such a large object. "Atta girl, Jin!"

Jinora gives Bolin a disgusted look before hefting the case up over the bottom of the doorway and finally onto the wooden floor. "I could use a little help, you know."

Bolin makes his way back over to Jinora and effortlessly lifts up the case with both of his large hands, and Jinora sighs in relief. "Don't worry, I gotcha."

Jinora wipes sweat from her forehead. Man, that thing must have been heavy. "Thanks."

"What do I do?" Meelo whines from the hall as he watches Mako and Bolin walk away with Jinora, and I can only stare dumbfounded at what's occurring before my very eyes.

"You and Ikki can help me fill up the piñata with candy and stuff," I hear Opal tell him. "Where is it anyways?"she says after a moment, and I look to the floor. The rainbow piñata is now sitting alone by the foot of the couch, where I think I probably dropped it.

I shake my head and brush some hair from my face, making sure I'm staring Asami straight in her eyes. "You're saying this party was planned by my _parents_? Cause Jesus, I don't even know how they feel about me dating you, since we haven't told them anything yet -"

Asami presses a finger to my lips. "Let me finish, Korra," she chuckles, and I immediately shut up. She takes a deep inhale before smiling gently. "You know that morning you and I were…" Asami bites her lip, and my gaze falls to her mouth - the combination of her candy-apple red lips and vibrant green eyes has me completely mesmerized. "You know - _making out -_ your mom actually saw us..."

"You can't be serious." So I'm guessing my mom really meant what she said when she asked Asami to take care of me. Meh. That sneaky woman.

"I am. She approached me a few days later after that, asking about you and I and if we were together -" Asami's voice softens as she mumbles something else about how I must have been busy watching tv again when my mom talked to her. "Anyways, to make a long story short, she said she was happy for you. For _us_ \- and she wanted to do something to celebrate it."

"And my dad?" I ask regretfully, tugging at my sweats. "How'd he handle it?"

Asami's incredibly attractive lips quirk upward, and I find myself wanting to lean in and meet them with my own despite all my current insecurities.

She takes my hand and begins leading me up towards my room, the room we now share. And I have to admit, with Asami holding my hand, she could literally take me anywhere and I wouldn't care about a single thing other than her ever letting go.

"Well, I guess you could say he took it better than my father did - but maybe you should ask him that yourself?" She smiles, and I gulp (audibly). "Now let's get you dressed up."

* * *

Opal grabs a bag full of fun-sized skittle packets and opens one of the little packs up, popping a few into her mouth. "Oh hey." She's busy chowing down on the skittles, but other than that her words are still understandable - although I'd much rather not listen to her babbling. She taps on my bedroom window. "There's my mom and my auntie!"

I twirl around in horror, Asami busy straightening the collar of a blue blouse that I've had sitting in the closet for a while. My mom bought it for me sometime during the summer, but I never got around to wearing it, thinking it didn't look very good on me. "Don't tell me you invited your mom and your aunt too?"

Ope waves a hand at me while laughing, and the inside of her mouth looks like she swallowed a rainbow. A single skittle escapes her munching and falls onto the carpet, and she quickly picks it up, blows on it, and sticks it back into her mouth. Ick. "Haha, no, I'm just joking with you."

I pout at her, turning my attention back to Asami, who smiles endearingly at me. "Thank god," I sigh.

"I still don't understand why I couldn't have picked your outfit out for you," Opal moans as she tries stuffing more candy into the piñata. Maybe she should try stuffing more candy in her mouth so I won't have to listen to her talk.

I give her a dirty look, but she's busy making Meelo hand her another bag of candy while Ikki lies rolling on the floor with Naga.

"That's because the last time you picked my outfit and things didn't turn out so well," I say.

"You looked hella hot though," Opal mutters, but I disregard her opinion.

"But the tie was literally choking me." I think back to the date night with Asami when we went to that Italian restaurant, and I shiver, bringing my hand up to my throat.

"There." Asami steps back and places her hands on her hips, nodding in approval.

I move my hand down to wrap it around the elbow of my other arm, feeling the thin fabric of the blouse crinkle slightly in my grasp. "Do I look alright?" I manage to force the question out, and suddenly I'm not just standing in front of only Asami, but another three people (plus a dog) have joined in and are intently staring at me.

"You look great," Asami says, and I'm about to say thank you before three other voices begin adding their unwanted input.

"You know it's bad for the groom to see the bride before the wedding, right?" Ikki says incredibly loudly as she wraps her arms around Naga's neck, and I blush heavily. "Something bad's gonna happen since Asami's seen you now."

"Right you are, Ikki," Opal nods in agreement and I want to say something but nothing comes out, my voice lost.

"I still think Asami looks hotter than Korra does," Meelo says nonchalantly, stepping closer to her and since he's so short carefully wraps his arms around her thigh before running his hand up and down her leg lightly.

 _Hey now._

Asami giggles and tries swatting him away.

I bend down and grab him around the waist, pulling him away from Asami. "That's my woman," I growl playfully into his ear, and he laughs as I toss him onto the bed. "And don't be a hater, you little twerp."

"Wow."

I look up from blowing raspberries into Meelo's stomach to see Asami, Opal and Ikki smirking at me.

"What?" I ask, although none of them seem intent on answering my question. Story of my life.

Opal nudges Asami in the side before cracking a wider grin. "Who knew little Korra would get so protective over her girlfriend from an advance by a five-year-old?"

I step back from Meelo as he pulls his shirt back down, fixing it, and I frown at the three of them. "Wh-What are you talking about?"

"Oh, nothing," Ikki says.

"Yeah, nothing," Opal adds, shrugging.

Asami's the last one, and I expect to hear her say something similar to the other two who are doing this purely to annoy me.

"Let's go downstairs." She reaches over to grab my hand, and I blush at the contact as well as the fact that Opal and Ikki and Meelo are still staring at us.

"U-Uh, okay." Honestly, I'd rather be away from Ope and her evil minions' penetrating eyes. If I didn't know any better I'd think someone was burning a hole in the back of my skull.

"Hey you two, make sure you bring the piñata downstairs!" Opal swings her arm around my shoulder, but it feels more like she's trying to get a free piggyback ride from me as Asami and I walk (or maybe it's more like stumble) down the stairs, entering a realm studded by thrumming, edgy beats.

Dear god, I think my home has been turned into a club.

There's a dark, rich scent floating through the air, and I take a deep inhale before grinning.

Opal sees me grinning and pats my cheek. "Smell that?"

"Oh you bet I do," I smirk, licking my lips. "It's Mako, isn't it?"

"Well, if you're referring to him cooking meat on the grill, then yes."

I poke Opal in the ribs and she laughs as Asami leads us into the hallway. "Of course that was what I was implying, stupid. Mako doesn't smell that good."

For some reason Asami stops walking, instead bursting out into laughter, and Opal and I just stare at her, wondering what on Earth has suddenly possessed her.

"Oh my god…" Asami finally says after a few seconds of pure laughter. "You guys are too funny."

"Yeah," I obviously know I'm pretty talented, so why not make it a point to share my gift with the rest of the world? "You probably didn't know this, but Opal and I are a part-time comedy duo," I chuckle.

"Right." Asami slips her hand into mine again, fixing me with her emerald green eyes. They've for some reason started to seem like they're glowing in the dim lighting of the hallway, but maybe it's just me being delirious.

"Korra!" A strong voice calls out from farther down, and I immediately recognize it as my father's. He's standing beside Tenzin, the two looking like they were having some kind of friendly chat before they saw me coming. My dad's wearing a light blue Hawaiian shirt and some jeans, and Tenzin's wearing a long-sleeved yellow collared shirt. Yellow always did look good on him, for some reason. As for my father, he's the kind of guy who likes more casual things. "Glad you could finally come down!"

"Y-Yeah," I reply nervously as my dad beckons the three of us over to him.

Opal snickers. "You mean _'come out'_ , haha. Get it?"

I elbow her in the ribs and she yelps. "Shut up."

Asami squeezes my hand as we stop in front of my dad, and he smiles at me, surprisingly. There's a few moments of him just standing there, looking at us with no emotion up for me to begin deciphering whatsoever.

I feel a bead of sweat roll down my temple. Man, is it getting hot in here or is it just me?

"Yeah… What do you think, Tenzin?" My dad motions to Asami and I, the smile on his face turning into a wide grin. "They look good together, don't they?"

Tenzin chuckles. "I have to agree with you there, Tonraq... You know, Korra, Pema and I have been wondering when you were going to get back into the dating life again." He motions outside, and through the window I can see Mako mouth-syncing some lyrics to the music playing while he floats over the grill. "Mako out there didn't really seem like your type back then."

I'm stunned speechless. "..." Does that mean I've always been gay? Has everyone known this little tidbit of info before me? I don't know whether I'm mind-blown or slap-happy.

"You did good, Korra," my dad says, reaching over to me to place a hand on my cheek and give me a gentle pat, awakening me slightly from my dismal state. Then he places a hand on Asami's shoulder, and she smiles at him. "I hope you'll treat Korra well. She doesn't do so good by herself."

Asami giggles, and the heart-lifting sound is exactly the same as when I first met her. It's an unforgettable laugh I know I won't forget. "I will, sir."

And then there's Ikki, glomping onto my waist so suddenly that I reel back in fright while my dad and Tenzin laugh along with Ope and Asami. "Told ya you're getting married, Korra!"

I brush the little bug off and try to create some distance between us. "We're not getting married, dummy."

"But your dad just gave you away!"

I want to get as far away from Ikki embarrassing me as I can, so I grab Asami by the hand (I'm not taking Opal's hand because let's face it, that's just not happening) and open the sliding door to get out of the kitchen. Not only will I get away from Ikki, but then the meat is out here too, heh - so double whammy.

I close the screen door behind Asami and Opal and I, smirking at Ikki on the other side with her hands on her nonexistent hips. She's obviously saying something, but I can't (thank god) hear her over the synthy wail of a 'Sleepyhead' remix.

When I turn back around I find myself wrapped in someone's embrace, and it's probably because I guess I'm supposed to be the one we're celebrating, but I honestly think this is only a glimpse of what Asami has to deal with sometimes - being ambushed by people and everything.

"Korra!" It's my mom this time, and after she holds me for what feels like an eternity she finally lets me go for some much-needed air.

"Aw, sweetie… I'm so happy for you." Again, not just my dad but my mom's also looking nicer than normal too.

Pema's standing beside her in a loose dress with an adoring look on her face, and I think the same scene with my father and Tenzin is going to occur here. Except only with their female counterparts.

"Ah - thanks, mom," I laugh, still a little confused that she would actually do this for me. "You know, you didn't have to throw this whole, uh, party or whatever it is you want to call it since you found out I'm k-kinda… And Asami and I are kinda..."

"I only want you to be happy," she quickly says before I have time to label myself. "And if Asami makes you happy, then I'm more than fine with that."

"Mom…" Cue my sentimentality.

Asami leans in and presses a warm kiss to my already hot cheek, and Opal laughs as my face turns an even deeper shade of red. I only hope it's not too noticeable with the dim patio lights out here. "I think your parents like me almost as much as you do."

The display of affection in front of my mother, which I know she's seen clearly this time compared to the other in my room (which now I know she saw as clear as day too), makes me turn to Asami to meet her vibrant eyes as I grimace in embarrassment.

I think my mother senses my discomfort and she grabs my shoulder, pushing me away from the screen door which she then opens up, letting Ikki (and it looks like Meelo's finally done filling up the piñata, since he's dragging it across the floor) and Meelo loose.

Goshdarnit, I thought I had them caged for a while.

"Go have some fun with your friends, Korra! I'll be inside with Pema and the others, getting the rest of dinner ready while Mako works on the meat."

"Uhhh okay…"

The screen door shuts behind me and my friends, and I take a deep exhale, relieved to be done with seeing my parents after I learned about them knowing about me and Asami. I'm glad that they're not upset about it, like Asami told me her dad was - I can't imagine how bad it must've been at the meeting, being humiliated in front of so many people for simply being you. And by your own dad, which is a lot worse than anything I can imagine.

The more I think about it, the more I feel bad for Asami. When I first met her, she seemed like such the perfect girl - and I still think she's perfect, but the longer I've known her I've also come to realize that she has problems too. And it turns out a lot of her problems are worse than mine. It's got me starting to think that no matter what class you're from or how much money you have or what it is you look like you'll always run into things that get in your way - it's just a part of life, and it happens to everyone whether we like it or not.

"Korra! Asami! Ope! Over here!" Bolin waves at us from a fold-out plastic table, not too far away from the grill where it looks like Mako's busy cooking some carne asada or something equally as delicious.

Jinora is standing beside Bo, and the two of them have some funky things that look strangely like earmuffs around their necks. I know they're earphones, I'm just exaggerating the weirdness of it all. There's been so many strange things I've seen today in such a short span of time, it's a little hard absorbing it all.

"You - You DJ, Bo?" I'm literally cracking up.

"You didn't know?" Bo smirks at Asami and Opal and I, giving the discs on the turntable a little spin before winking at the three of us. I know he's really excited about this because his eyes are literally twinkling in the bright light of his open laptop, and I grin at his enthusiasm.

Jinora just rolls her eyes at him and goes back to sorting through some discs.

"Yeah, Jinny here and I have a promising future circumferencing the delectable art of DJ-ing ahead of us." He wraps his arm around Jinora's neck and tugs her into his side, which she doesn't look very happy about.

"You know I'm only helping you because you've never done this before, right?"

Bolin quickly covers her mouth his his hand as Jinora's eyes grow wide, and she flails futilely in his grasp. " _Shhhh!_ " he whispers quite loudly, although we all know he's trying to do it secretively. "Don't tell them that, Jinora!"

"Too late," Asami smirks. "We already know the truth."

Bolin sticks out his quivering bottom lip at Jinora. "You're the only one who said they would DJ with me though… Opal was being a poop, and Mako said he'd do the grill."

"I know I know." Jinora's all smiles again, letting her friendly aura spill through like usual. "Bolin, I'll be right back, alright? I want to show Korra what I made for her."

Bolin looks up from the computer screen. "Oh, sure! Go ahead, I'll be right here."

"Great." Jinora sets down her headphones and puts the discs she was holding back before coming around the table and grabbing my sleeve, Opal and Asami following behind me as I get dragged across the patio. I think I'm getting dragged around by everyone today, pretty much.

We stop in front of a large cake.

It has three layers, the base the largest and getting consecutively smaller as it grows taller.

And all across the sides of the cake are streams of different colored frosting, more specifically in rainbow pattern.

Asami gestures toward the cake before nodding at Jinora. "That's a really nice cake, Jinora. Did you make it yourself?"

Jinora nods, blushing lightly. "Yeah… It took a while to make. Even the inside is colored too."

"That's so cool!" Opal butts in, wrapping her arm around my neck. "What's the filling?"

"Custard, cause Korra really like custard."

"Ooohhhhhh, sounds yummy!"

Seriously. I think everyone is more excited than me about this whole Coming Out party. It's almost like they're going overboard about the whole thing, and I admire their desire to set up this event and all, but it's kind of hard to process this new thing you've discovered about yourself (like me liking girls, which according to Tenzin, he's noticed for a while?) and everyone's trying to congratulate you about it when you're still trying to fully accept it.

And I'm not saying that I don't want to like girls - more specifically Asami. Jesus, she's as hot as hot gets, and she's super sweet and probably my best friend (yeah no, sorry Ope).

"Um," I point to the cake and look at Jinora, raising an eyebrow. Then I sneak some furtive glances left and right, making sure Ikki and Meelo aren't anywhere nearby. It's been strangely quiet these past few minutes after my mom released them from their confinement, and the vigorous pounding of Bo's music choice isn't helping to soothe my skittish mindset about Ikki's and Meelo's current whereabouts. "I hate to say this, but it looks like a wedding cake, no offense," I cringe.

"That was the plan."

Okay… Um, something's wrong here.

"I _told you_ you're getting married!" Ikki jumps up from under the table, and I scream.

"For Christ's sake, Ikki! Stop scaring me like that!" My arms are wrapped around Asami's neck, and I'm sure she's laughing right now like she was earlier. It's just that my head and my heart are pounding so hard and so loud that I can't fully register what's going on. And I'd really like to understand what's happening, but all I've got so far is that I'm getting married - or so everyone keeps saying.

"You okay there?" Asami asks me, her voice small but incredibly overpowering. Although I mentioned the patio lights are somewhat dim, I can easily see her grinning at me. Seductively.

"Y-Yeah." I let go of her and straighten out my blouse, then pull up my jeans a bit. "I'm fine."

"That's good."

Those words. Those were almost the same words she said to me the night she got into the accident. We were in the car, and after some kissing she pulled back and asked me something similar, to which I also replied to in a similar manner.

It's that playful flirting she always does to tease me into wanting more of her. Or at least that's how I see it, because I know she knows that I can't resist her.

The shallow bursts of adrenaline-pumping beats to Ke$ha's 'Die Young' fill the air and course through my entire body, and the next thing I know I'm watching Asami and how she's moving _her_ body.

She twists and turns at just the right moments, at just the right times when the rhythm speeds up or slows down, and then I see a small figure spring out onto the patio-turned-dancefloor.

 _Meelo_.

He immediately begins dancing away beside Asami - too close for my liking - and I cross my arms, huffing at the two.

I turn to my left, hoping to connect with Jinora, but it turns out she's already left and is waving at me from her station at the DJ table with Bo, and the two of them look like they're having a blast.

Okay, so Jinora's not here, that's fine. I can always talk to Opal.

"You know, Ope -"

Oh. She's not here either.

As a matter of fact, she's over there shaking her booty with Meelo, Asami and Ikki. And I thought she was my friend. Guess I was wrong.

"Come on Korra!" Opal calls out, her voice somehow managing to reach me through the deafening music. "Dance with us!"

I focus back on Asami and the two of us make eye contact. Her green eyes fix mine with what could be some kind of hypnotism in my book, and she winks at me, making my skin crawl at the attention I know she's giving me and only me.

She cocks her head in her direction as if to say 'Come dance with us!', but I just shake my own.

"I don't dance!" (well, at least not in front of other people) I say loudly as the drums continue pounding away, hoping she understands what I'm trying to get across to her.

She makes a sad face and reaches over to Meelo, wrapping her arms around his waist and pulling him closer before turning around and working her hips close to the little guy.

Crap. I know you're doing this to make me jealous, Asami.

And it's working.

God, _why_ is it working?!

She inches closer and closer to him, all the while maintaining eye contact with me and all I want to do right now is go over there and tackle them (each in different ways).

"Outta the way." I dive between the two before Asami's close enough to grind on the midget and push Meelo aside with my hips, making sure to bump him in the head with what rear-end I have.

I can hear Meelo protesting something about me being rude as he's pushed out of the dance ring, and Opal cheers as she sees me begin to let loose.

"Yeah, that's it, girl - rock that body!"

Asami giggles and leans toward me, the deceptive smirk painted red on her perfect lips. "Glad you decided to join in."

I can see Mako staring at us from off to the side, a plate of grilled meat in one hand and a pair of tongs in the other. Heh. Betcha he wishes he was over here breaking it down with the ladies. Aside from him, Bolin and Jinora seem happy enough, pumping their fists and bobbing their heads to the music, their hands hovering over the turntable.

"I didn't really have a choice," I tell her, and her grin only grows wider.

"It was the only way!" she laughs, to which I shake my head in disappointment at her in a joking manner.

"Uh, the meat's ready you guys…" Mako calls out, but none of us pay him any attention.

"You're really sneaky, you know," I grab Asami by the arm and pull her into me, feeling her warm body against mine. We move in rhythm to the pounding music, and I start to wonder why I didn't want to join in on dancing with her and the others in the first place.

Nothing beats dancing cheek-to-cheek with Asami Sato.

* * *

 **hope it was at least a little bit funny... any thoughts about the party or what just happened in general? did you like this chapter? i said i would try to have a little fun this time around, so i pray my efforts were successful, haha. xD**

 **thanks to all who have faved/followed, and to those who also take the time to review! :D**


	23. Chapter 23

**asami pov - enjoy. :)**

* * *

 **The Other Side**

"Dinnertime, Asami!" I hear my mother call, and her welcoming voice lures me into the kitchen in an instant. The book I was reading in the living room I hastily threw onto the couch, and now I'm in the kitchen with her, more excited to eat than to finish the story.

She smiles at me before turning around and opening up the oven to pull out a roast chicken, a meal suitable for a small family of three. "You like chicken, don't you Asami?"

"You know I love chicken, mom," I giggle as I wash my hands at the sink.

"Could you be a dear and help me set up the table then? Your dad said he'd be right down, he's just putting a few things away in his office."

"Yeah, leave it to me," I hustle over to the utensils, my socks helping me skid frictionlessly across the wooden floor, and then once I've gathered three complete sets of silverware I place them neatly on the table.

I take my seat at the table right as my father comes down, and seeing me he breaks into a grin. "Looks like you got the table ready. Thank you, Asami." He pats my head.

I smile up at him. "Sure, dad."

"Alright everyone, let's eat." My mom brings the chicken over, placing a few other side dishes beside it and three glasses of water.

We're about to say grace when there's a knock on the door, and although it's subtle it's easily heard in the spacious confinement of the mansion.

My father places down the knife he was about to use to cut the chicken. "Now who could that be?" he wonders aloud, pushing back his seat and making his way down the hall.

I frown, a bit disappointed that we'll have to wait a few minutes before we get to finally eat. My mother smiles from her seat beside me and reaches over to give my hand a squeeze.

"Don't worry Asami, I'm sure your father will be back soon."

There's the sound of the door opening, and then I hear my dad's voice, strangely loud and questioning before a loud crash fills the emptiness.

I jump back in my seat, but by then my mom's already pulling me by the arm through another hallway, and my heart is beating wildly in my chest as my father's shouts fill the house.

One of the maid's rooms is open, and my mom leads me into it, pushing me into the closet. Her eyes are wild, and I know she's scared because her chest is rising and falling rapidly, just like mine. Grabbing a few coats off of a hanger she throws them over me before pulling them down low enough to see my face, and she places a trembling hand on my cheek.

"Asami, I don't want you to come out. Stay here and don't come out for anyone, alright? Don't come out for _anyone_."

I nod, not quite understanding what's happening but taking in and hearing everything: the occasional shouts of my father, the harsh crashes and thumps, and the painful pounding of my own heart.

"I promise I'll come back for you when it's safe." There's a few seconds of brief hesitation, and the crashes seems to be getting louder and closer. "I love you, Asami." She draws her hand back slowly, a sad smile on her face as she shuts the closet door and I'm encased in darkness.

"Mom…" I whisper, my voice uncharacteristically hoarse. I feel tears building up behind my eyes, and my head hurts almost as much as my chest does.

But I have to stay here. Mom said I had to, and to not come out for anyone.

She'll come back for me.

She promised.

I sink back into the darkness, tugging the coats closer to my chest. My breathing is heavy and it's stuffy in here.

I remain still for what feels like an eternity before I hear something, or rather _someone_.

"Asami…" The voice is far away. It's hard for me to make out whose it is, although it seems familiar.

Something moves through my hair, softly and gently, but I still flinch.

"Asami."

There it is again.

I wriggle around in my cocoon of coats.

I'm not sure if my eyes are open or closed. It's so dark in here, I can't tell if they're open, only to register the inky blackness of my hiding place, or maybe I'm still too scared to finally open them.

"Asami. Wake up."

It turns out my eyes are scrunched shut to an impossibly tight degree. I carefully open one before the other, realizing I'm in Korra's living room. Early morning sunlight prys it's way through the curtains closed against the windows, and I release a short breath of relief.

It was only a bad dream.

Something beneath me moves slightly before a warm arm curls around my waist to pull me in tighter to the figure behind me.

A familiar voice, soothing and quiet, murmurs into my ear as warm breath ghosts past my cheek. "You were talking in your sleep."

I look at the tan hand half hidden beneath my hip, and then I tilt my head back to catch Korra's blue eyes.

Okay. I remember what happened now. Last night was Korra's party, and Opal and Mako and Bolin had come over, along with Tenzin's family to celebrate the occasion. After stuffing ourselves silly and cracking open the piñata we had decided to play some Just Dance, and I'm not sure if it was because we got drunk on apple cider or if we were just so pooped out at four in the morning that we just fell asleep. Either way, the proof of the tv playing softly in the background, along with the five of us still wearing the same clothes as we were last night, should say more than enough about our exhausted states.

I blink at Korra, smiling sleepily. "I'm sorry. I was having a bad dream," I confess, not really wanting to say anything else.

She frowns at me before pulling me tighter to her chest, and I'm somewhat surprised she's brave enough to be holding me like this. Usually she's more timid, but I really don't mind. Although she's firm and muscled, she's also somewhat soft. But most of all, she warm, and I like the feeling of our shared, close proximity.

"Hey. Look at those dopes," she nods over at Bolin and Opal, who are sleeping flat on the floor. Bolin's lying in a pool of skittles, a little strand of drool crawling out of his open mouth as he snores softly. Opal has her head on his stomach, she's barefoot and her shirt is raised slightly, revealing her midriff. Mako's in the lay-z-boy, his spiky hair more messed up than usual, Naga snoring loudly on top of him.

I crack a smile. It's too bad that Tenzin and his family couldn't have stayed longer, but he was persistent in saying he had to get the kids home on time for bed, although the three little ones declared that they were absolutely fine with staying up late. I didn't believe them when Meelo collapsed suddenly on the carpet floor while in the middle of a dance showdown to 'Toxic' with Korra and Mako.

There's a knock on the door and I jump.

Korra's grasp tightens yet again, and we turn towards each other, confused.

My heartbeat has started picking up speed, and I lecture myself because it normally wouldn't at something so trivial, but after that dream I had I just can't help it.

After a few seconds another knock sounds though the living room, and Bolin squirms on the floor, causing Opal's head to drop with a mild 'thump'.

"Ow…" she moans, sitting up and rubbing the back of her head as Bolin yawns and stretches his arms.

Korra sits up as well, me following her arms' loop around my waist and moving with her grasp as she brings herself to sit. We watch Bolin and Opal come to sorts with their surroundings for a few seconds before another knock sounds, this time harder than the other two times.

"Who's that..?" Mako asks, rubbing a hand across his face before groaning when he realizes Naga is asleep on top of him.

"I don't know." Korra gets up, removing her hands from around my waist and heading over to the curtains before pulling them back an inch to peep through the window. "Hey," she waves a hand over her back, "Asami, come over here."

I get off the couch and crouch beside Korra, our faces closely spaced as we stare through the living room window.

Outside standing on the doorstep are two men wearing black suits, both with dark sunglasses. One of them checks his watch before saying something to the other, and I quickly grab the curtains to shut them.

"Crap…" I weave my way through Mako, Opal and Bolin, who are now standing upright, albeit still a little groggy. "They're here."

Korra follows after me. "Who's here? Who are those guys?"

"I don't know their names, but what I do know for sure is that they're here for me."

Mako steps in. "Are you saying those guys were sent to come get you?"

"Yes. Most likely by my father. We have bodyguards who dress exactly like that; I recognized the Future Industries pin on the front of their ties." I sigh in frustration, rubbing my temples. "My dad's obviously still upset with me… I think since I haven't talked to him in a while he thought he could send some of his henchmen to come and retrieve me or something."

"How'd they find you?" Bolin asks curiously, wiping the drool from the corner of his mouth.

"More than likely found her by her cellphone; it's not very hard to track people nowadays, especially if you're the CEO of Future Industries," Mako says before I can answer, "We do it all the time at headquarters when we search for people."

"So what do we do?" Opal straightens her shirt, pulling it down in the process.

"I don't know…" I look to Korra, who has a contemplative look on her face.

"We'll need a distraction," she says out of the blue, and the rest of us whip our heads to look at her curiously. Instead of that heavily-debating look she's got a crooked grin, one that looks like she's up to something.

"Bo, Mako, you guys stay here and keep those guys busy." Korra's sparkling eyes meet mine, and she seizes my hand before grabbing Opal by the sleeve and begins to drag us toward the kitchen. "Don't let them know Asami was here, okay? And don't let them follow us either."

Mako and Bolin exchange glances, Naga finally awake and wagging her tail happily at their feet as her tongue hangs out the side of her mouth.

"Korra." I shake my head at my girlfriend and meet Opal's darting green eyes, the both of us fairly curious as to what Korra has in mind. "Uh, where are we going?"

"We're getting out of here," she replies, not bothering to turn back to look at us until she stops in front of the screen door, opening it.

Opal snorts. "Oh yeah, leave it to you and your brilliant escape plans. You're not going to have me chased by anyone again, are you? Or have me get a speeding ticket or run in six-inch high heels or anything?"

"Well…" Korra bobs her head from side to side, doing what I think is entertaining the thought before pulling us behind her through the screen door and shutting it. "I don't know about any of that yet."

Opal rolls her eyes. "Great."

We stop in front of the back fence, the farthest from Korra's house and also the one separating us from another home on the other side.

"Alright, let's go ladies. Hup-hup!" Korra grabs Opal by the arm when neither of us moves, only staring at her, dumbfounded.

"Don't tell me we're going to jump the fence." Opal stares up at the towering planks of wood.

"We're going to jump the fence."

"And I'm first?"

"Yeah. I need you to grab Asami from the other side when I lift her up."

What?! Lift me up?!

"Korra, no no no no!" Opal hisses, leaning closer to Korra as she speaks in a hushed tone. My guess is as to not make us known, if the men my father sent happen to be inside the house already. "Korra - I'm in a _skirt_ , if you haven't noticed," Opal states sarcastically as she motions down her bottom half. "And so is Asami!"

Goodness this is nerve-wracking. We don't know how Mako and Bolin are handling those guys, or if they think we're still in the house. All I know though is that I'm not ready at all to be dragged back to my dad.

"Guys, we don't have time to be arguing about this," I say, although I really wish we had another plan. I guess you've got to do what you've got to do.

Opal stares at me for a moment, scanning my face as she bites on her lip nervously. She sighs. "Can we at least use a chair or something?"

"No time," Korra instantly retorts before grabbing Opal by the waist and heaving her up, Opal making a sound of discomfort.

Opal grabs onto the top of the fence and begins trying to pull herself up, and I watch the two as they engage in a vigorous battle of push-and-pull.

"Lift me higher, Korrie -"

"Dude, what are you eating? Lay off of those Cheeto Puffs..."

"I don't eat Cheeto Puffs, nitwit."

"Seriously -"

Korra's standing with her back supporting Opal's rear, using her hands to try and lift the other girl's legs as Opal attempts to pull herself up (Opal's still barefoot, by the way). Opal urges Korra to give her a final last lift, and Korra does - it works - but with the sudden shove Opal's skirt flies up at the last moment, allowing us a nice view of her green and black pinstriped panties.

A small shriek sounds as we hear her land on the ground on the opposite side.

"Still alive!" Opal tries jumping up and down on the other side as she waves an arm, her voice low but excited at her success.

"Piece of cake." Korra rubs her hands together and turns to me, grinning. "You ready, 'Sami?"

"I guess." I step forward and stare into Korra's eyes for a moment, more than a little puzzled with this impromptu escape plan that was hatched so quickly. "Are you sure about this?"

Korra nods slowly, placing her hands on my hips gently. I feel her fingers slide over the thin fabric of my dress, and I wish I could just stay here, looking into Korra's intense blue eyes and graced by her bright smile instead of being faced with this random situation.

"Here you go." Korra slowly lifts me off my feet, and she moves closer to the fence so that I can grab onto the top like Opal had done before. "Opal, grab Asami if you can."

"Got it. I mean - got her."

Opal's hand latches onto mine, and then the next thing I know I'm halfway between the two fences, something sort of like a human teeter-totter, forced into an unnatural posture. I gulp as Opal tugs on me harder, her nails digging into my skin, and I recognize the heat spreading across my face as a blush at the thought of Korra possibly getting a splendid view of my undies.

I squeal as I fall down onto Opal, the two of us crashing down into the soft, velvety, nicely-manicured grass of the neighbor's backyard. When I sit up there's Korra, both of her arms over the top of the fence as she heaves herself up. Within a few seconds (Opal and I were meticulously dusting ourselves off) Korra's on her feet after a nice landing onto our side of the fence, and I'm starting to think it's partially due to the fact that she's the only one wearing jeans between the three of us.

"Okay guys, let's go. We've gotta keep moving." Korra brushes past the two of us, stepping over the recently-mowed grass toward the back of the neighbor's house.

I stand perplexed for a moment as Opal follows suit. "Whatever you say, Houdini," Opal says.

After a few seconds of being paralyzed I shake my head, trying to regain my lost confidence, although it's much to no avail. "Um, I don't know if we should be doing this…"

"Don't worry, it'll be fine - I know exactly what we're going to do," Korra smirks at Opal and I, not bothering to wipe her feet at the doormat sitting outside the screen door, and which is strangely unlocked. Talk about sketchy.

Korra walks further into the house, but Opal and I just stare at her for a few moments before she sighs and waves her hand at us to invite us in. "Come on, you scaredy cats. It's totally fine," she reiterates, and Opal and I carefully step into the house.

Korra shuts the door behind us, making sure to lock it. "Katara! Katara, you're here, aren't you?"

"Over here, hon," an elderly, slightly raspy voice emanates from the kitchen, and I jump at the suddenness. "Just making some breakfast for the kitties."

A cat prances by us as a bowl clinks from somewhere father in, to which Korra says something to the animal like 'Hey there Waldo - haven't seen you in a bit!', and we follow the orange and white cat toward the source of the sound.

I side up next to Korra. "Who's Katara?" I ask, my voice a hushed whisper.

"She's basically like my grandma - I mean, she's actually Tenzin's mom, so we're not blood-related, but I've known her since I was really young." Korra grins. "She's really cool - I think you guys'll like her."

Turning into the kitchen I'm welcomed by the sight of an elderly woman with gray hair, wearing a dark blue fuzzy bathrobe and tossing some food into a couple of dishes on the floor, which are surrounded by about six cats (from those of which I can count). In one wrinkled hand she holds a cigarette, and I take it as the reason why her voice is slightly hoarse. It's always been a mystery to me as to how people can smoke so early in the morning.

"How've you been, Korra?" Katara asks, taking a deep inhale of her cig as she opens up the kitchen window above the sink. "I haven't seen you for a few weeks." She chuckles before Korra has a chance to say anything, puffing out a vaporous trail of smoke as she does so. "Judging by your entrance through the back door, I'm guessing something important brought you here, right? You haven't used that way of entry for a few years."

Smart woman.

"Yeah, actually I do need something - can I borrow your car?"

I choke on air, and Katara gives another short, hearty laugh. Despite her rough voice, she seems fairly friendly and I can instantly see a sort of resemblance between Korra and her, not only with their tan skin and light blue eyes, but with their stubborn yet gentle personalities. I don't know how I know, exactly - it's just a feeling I get.

"Of course." She reaches into her robe pocket and grabs something, tossing it to Korra. Korra reaches out to instantly snatch the keys with one hand in a single, deft, sweeping motion. "Tell me how your adventure goes when you get back, okay? I'll make you some of those noodles you like. Your friends can have some too, if they want." Her smile is sweet and sincere, one corner of her lips tilted slightly higher than the other. Even though Korra said they're not blood-related, I honestly feel like they could be if I didn't know any better.

"Deal." Korra grins back, and if it weren't for her strong grip pulling the two of us to the garage with her I think Opal and I would have stood there watching Katara feed her army of cats for the rest of the morning.

The garage is musty and dark before Korra pulls on a switch to light up the room. Along with the small 'click' of the light's cord signaling it's luminescent life, the appearance of a white Mercedes-Benz fills the garage, fluorescent and almost blinding in the dim lighting.

"Oh my god…" I run my hands over the silky, metallic hood, and there's undoubtedly a wide grin on my face. I'm sorry, I just can't help it - I'm a mechanics geek, but you probably already knew that. "It's a Mercedes-Benz SL550 - with a 4.6 liter biturbo V8 engine, 7 speed automatic transmission and a retractable hardtop…" I stop, catching myself as I take a breath. "Just to name a few of the features."

Opal stares at me like I've literally started speaking in tongues. "Geez woman, you sure do know your cars."

I shrug. "Yeah, automobiles and mechanics are kinda my thing - sorry if I go into a technological fog zone every now and then."

"You've driven this car before, Korra?" Opal questions as Korra unlocks the doors with the press of a button, immediately getting into the driver's seat with a large grin on her face. Something tells me she's enjoying this. Then again, I'm also a bit jealous because I wish I was the one driving the Mercedes.

"Sometimes. Katara lets me drive it when we hang out together while my parents are away."

Opal plops herself down in the backseat while I get shotgun, and I bite back down on my lip, trying to stave off the excitement I can clearly feel building up.

I buckle myself in, and a loud rumbling emanates around us like a top-notch surround-sound system as the garage door opens and Saturday morning daylight penetrates the dank enclosure. I can't tell if it's the engine rumbling to life (because it's exactly as I would imagine a SL550 when the key turns in the ignition) or the gravelly undertone of the rolling garage door as it makes way for us to exit.

"Where are we going?" Opal says once we've managed to back out onto the street and are now headed toward the freeway entrance not too far away.

Korra hums to herself, squinting. "I don't really know - didn't think that far ahead. Just thought it'd be good to get away from those guys who wanted to take Asami away."

I agree with Korra. The only safe place away from here would be anywhere else besides Korra's home for now, but the thought of momentary escape does nothing to soothe my frazzled nerves for the short amount of time we've been awake.

Korra tells Opal to send a text to Bolin and ask him how things are going back at the house, something she refers to as a 'status report'. I have to crack a small grin at her attempt to alleviate the tense atmosphere, but when I look down at my hands nestling my cellphone I'm reminded that I'm still able to be found by my dad. Still able to be tracked. And I don't know if he's ever going to stop unless he gets what he wants; the both of us can be very stubborn at times, and this is no exception. My father especially puts this hereditary stubbornness into action quite frequently, creating business deals and the like with other corporations and not taking no for an answer when one tries to refuse an offer of his.

My stomach lurches as we turn onto the freeway. I'm right - I have to be. I know my father better than anyone, even if that may not be something I'm proud of it's definitely true. The only way I'll get him to stop chasing me is to show him that I don't need him, that I can make my own choices, and that he can't be in charge of my life.

I turn the thought over a few times in my head, examining every angle that I possibly can, and it helps me relax a bit when Korra turns on the radio to an oldies station. I'm sure she's caught the hint that Varrick and I absolutely adore the anything retro, and I'd like to think she's putting it on this station specifically for me, even if she remains fairly silent.

Wait - that's it.

Varrick.

Varrick can help me. The last time I saw him we decided that I'd work with him to prove to my father that I'm my own person.

"Korra - take us to StoneTech." I'm confident in urging Varrick to put our plan into action soon, more specifically today if possible. I need my dad to know that I'm going to stand up for my own rights. I don't need him to make my own life for me.

"StoneTech?" Korra repeats warily as she raises an eyebrow, and I nod, my hair waving in the breeze that's flowing through the inched down window. She turns from me to look out at the freeway, which is thinly speckled with cars with the rare driver who doesn't care for sleeping in, and shrugs. The grin on her face remains.

"Sure, I don't see why not. I'm sure there's a reason for you wanting go to there, if I know you well enough. Which I think I do," she smirks at me, and I giggle.

"Damn, StoneTech?!" Opal punches Korra playfully in the shoulder. "You never told me you went to StoneTech!"

"Well, you're gonna come with us this time, so quit hitting me like I'm your punching bag."

"Woohoooooooooooooooo!" Opal yells at the top of her lungs, throwing her arms up in the air while Korra and I burst out into laughter.

Around half an hour later we've made it past the security officer at StoneTech's rear entrance, and I'm basically fast-walking into the back garage that we entered in before. I know Korra and Opal are right behind me, so I don't turn back to watch them, although I can hear Opal gasping (or maybe oohing and ahhing might be more appropriate for the situation) and I can imagine her pointing excitedly at things like a child at an amusement park. For me this is a serious matter, and I mean business. I'll leave Korra to tend to Opal and her ogling at everything that moves for now; I'm sure after all this is settled she can have a tour of the place if she'd like.

I burst into Varrick's office, not bothering to knock. "Varrick, I need to speak with you."

Varrick jumps in his leather chair, and for the slightest second every hair on his body stands up, most prominently the tips of his pointy mustache. His papers take flight with the force of air from my entrance, settling in various places on and around his wooden desk. Zhu Li is standing beside him, and the two seemed like they might have been discussing something, a surprised look on her face as she pushes her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

I stride toward Varrick confidently.

"Oh, Asami - you scared me there, kid!" Varrick laughs, sweeping a hand over his head to calm his crazed hair before leaning back in his seat and taking a deep breath. "But it's great seeing you again so soon - eager to get on with that deal we discussed earlier, aren't we?" He wiggles his eyebrows.

"Yes. We need to get started on it - preferably the sooner the better. My father is making attempts to retrieve me, but I can't let that happen until I've shown him that I'm more than a tool for our family company."

Varrick's fingers are placed together tip to tip, forming a jointed bridge in front of his nose. He puckers his lips, his icy blue eyes darting behind me for a second at who I'm guessing are Korra and Opal. "Mhm, I understand." His voice is low and thoughtful, and he nods at the execution of my forceful statement. "About that -"

Varrick stands up and crosses his arms, cocking his head at Zhu Li. "Zhu Li, when's that meeting we have coming up?"

"Um…" Zhu Li clicks away on her tablet quickly. "It's in two weeks, sir. Two weeks exactly."

"Perfect." Varrick places a hand on my shoulder. "Listen kid - I'm planning on having a party of my own, separate from your father's usual company gatherings… I was thinking it might be the perfect place to unveil something you could work on, as well as your refusal of going along with his personal preferences. Whaddya think?" Varrick's beaming at me, but I'm still a bit confused.

"Um, what would I unveil?"

"Ha! That's the beauty of it, kid - anything that you want! I don't want you to limit yourself, and I know you were limited when you helped your father. So I want to give you the freedom you want to work on anything you so desire here, at StoneTech, with me!" He slaps me on the back, and I stumble forward but am able to brace myself against the desk.

"Your friends could help too, if they want - I'm sure they'd enjoy that. They look like smart girls."

Opal and Korra chuckle nervously, and I know it's because the two of them don't consider themselves bright in the very least. Varrick will probably realize his false accusation in due time, but I'm sure it wouldn't make a big difference. They help me in so many ways, none of them having to do with the level of their IQ's; that'd be my expertise, not theirs, haha (sorry guys).

"Alright," I grin at Varrick, and he wraps an arm around my shoulder. "I've had a few ideas in mind that'd I've always wanted to work on while with my father…"

"That's all you need, Asami. A dream is all it takes to make something become a reality," the older man tugs me into his chest affectionately, and I smile at his display of warmth.

* * *

 **comments? speculations? i can't say it enough: review, por favor! xD**

 **also, i'd like to give a great big thanks to dilutra for creating an amazing cover art piece for this story; i couldn't have asked for anything better. dilutra's more than an awesome artist, so you should definitely go and check out their work on deviantart and follow them on tumblr if you haven't already done so! dilutra's blog on tumblr is under the name 'dilutra', and if you'd like to check out my blog as well it's under 'azuki-rose' (easy to remember, right? xD). our names are the same for our deviantart's too (although dilutra is the only one who can creative absolutely beautiful artwork, haha).**

 **thanks for all your support!**


	24. Chapter 24

**i hope all y'alls spring break is going well (if you are on spring break, cause i definitely am)! mine's been okay so far; just had my wisdom teeth pulled out and all that... i was hoping that i'd get more writing done this week since i'm pretty much stuck inside for the time being, but this is all i got so far, haha... nada mas. xD thanks to all of you who have supported this story - i wouldn't be as far as i am now without you. :)**

 **anyways... this time it's a korra pov, just so y'all know.**

* * *

 **Dirty Little Secrets**

"Cut!" Varrick waves his hand before sighing, and I drop my hands from the steering wheel of the car, my gaze floating over to Opal's tired eyes.

"I'm getting the feeling this is gonna be terrific! After a little bit more practice, that is - yep, a little bit more practice would definitely make this commercial a winner! Let's come back again tomorrow or something and try this again - get some snacks, hit the hay, go hang with Asami and see what that kiddo's up to, whatever you want. I think you girls might need a break."

"Or maybe _you_ might need a break," Opal mutters sarcastically under her breath, and which I hear as someone shuts off the fan blowing air in our faces. I grin as she slinks down lower in the passenger seat, her arm hanging over the car door. "Dear god, that was intense…" she says to me.

"I'm sure Asami had it worse than us when she did stuff like this," I remind her, and she just frowns at me. "What we're doing now is probably like, easy as pie compared to what she used to do."

After we got to Varrick's office he mentioned something about me and Opal helping out Asami, which we immediately jumped at the idea. Then reality smacked us a few times in the face, and we remembered that we aren't exactly the brainiacs that Asami and Varrick are. So yeah… The idea of helping out Asami kinda got scrapped, but then Varrick suggested that we get started with something easier, like advertising. Of course Opal was ecstatic about the whole idea, and I thought it wouldn't hurt to try. But god, was I wrong… Advertising is waaaay harder than it looks. Varrick's trying to start us off with a car gig, where Opal and I are 'driving' and there's wind blowing in our faces as we cruise down a lonely coastal highway - y'know, the typical scene.

And maybe I forgot to mention that we're supposed to be dressed like we're on our way to the beach, so my bud and I have on a minimal layer of clothing. I guess competing in swim really does pay off - who knew I'd be able to show off my awesome bod in a car commercial.

"Yo, are we getting paid for this?" Opal nudges me in the rib cage as we walk down the main hallway on our way to Asami's garage. As soon as Varrick moved Asami's convertible here she's come in almost everyday to work on it, although it's only been a little more than a week since then, if I remember right. The garage in the automobile testing arena has officially become her new workshop, and I haven't been inside since that last time Asami and I had that little talk. I'm sure though that things are going to start looking a lot different in there once she gets started working on whatever it is she's so hyped about, after Varrick told her she could unveil whatever she wanted at his party in a few weeks.

I tug the jacket Zhu Li gave me tighter to my semi-clad body, stopping in front of a vending machine in the middle of the way and putting in a dollar. I punch in the code for the chocolate chip cookies. Opal shoots me a menacing look before I sigh and insert another dollar, dialing the code again for another pack. "I don't know - maybe. I just think it's a fun experience, and maybe it can get us into more things. You know, like a slingshot to catapult us to stardom," I joke and stuff a cookie into my mouth, munching thoughtfully. "But speaking realistically, we're helping both Asami and Varrick, so I guess I don't mind doing it, even if it may just be a one-time thing and there's no pay."

"Yeah. Maybe I'll finally be noticed by those Victoria's Secret agents that I've been hassling lately." Opal shrugs as she opens her pack of cookies and I give her a weird look.

"What is it with you and Victoria's Secret?"

A sly smirk etches it's way across her tanned face, and I laugh. "A girl can dream, can't she?"

"I guess," I say, tugging up the mini jean shorts that pair with the bikini tops me and Opal had been told to wear for the commercial practice.

We walk on down the somewhat busy hall in relative silence, happily munching on our cookies (that I so graciously paid for).

"I wonder what Asami's so excited about - it's like she's got something super brilliant in mind, and it's got me really curious as to what it is." I look at Opal, but she's still busy devouring her food.

"You're just saying that because you want to use that as an excuse to get it on with your girlfriend, dontcha?" She wiggles her eyebrows stupidly and I feel like smacking the silly grin off her face, but can only settle for shrinking back a bit as heat spreads rapidly across my cheeks.

"N-Not true!" I stutter, which only makes Opal grin wider. "I'm really wondering why she's so excited - I want to know what she's got in mind."

"Riiiiggghht…" Ope says, and I growl at her. If I were a dog like Naga I'm sure my hair would bristle (leave it to me and my imagination to say the weirdest things, haha).

"I'm telling the truth!" I shoot back, but whether Opal really decides to listen to me or not is totally beyond me. Sometimes I think it's just easier to leave her be in her own little world.

"Well if that's true, I wonder why you're not making a big fuss of walking around wearing a bikini top and mini shorts?"

I furrow my brows, watching Opal throw her trash away in a garbage can to the side of the walkway. "What the heck does that have to do with anything?"

"Oh, I don't know…" Opal's smile is mischievous. "Maybe someone's thinking about showing more than what's considered appropriate to Miss Sato?"

"Quit playing." I give her a push, and she chuckles. "I'm not thinking about seducing anyone. I wouldn't even be wearing this right now if it wasn't for Varrick and his quirky car commercial idea; you know me and how heavy I dress at this time of year when we're not at swim practice. I'm literally an Eskimo. Over here is the least you'll ever see me wearing," I point out, and Opal nods in agreement, a hand placed to her chin as she strokes an imaginary beard (a strange habit she's got for some reason when she's thinking about something).

"And I bet you're going to send Bo some pics with you in your bikini?" I wink at her, and she gives me a bashful look.

"Wh-What are you -" she gives me a shove into the entryway of the testing arena before she begins swatting at me like I'm some kind of pest, and I laugh, darting away from her punches and heading over to Asami's garage.

And there Asami is, sitting at the workshop desk in the corner on her swivel stool. She's got a pencil in her hand and is furiously scribbling, occasionally reaching every now and then for a protractor or some other tool to adjust her sketches.

Opal and I stop by Asami's side, but she doesn't look up.

"Uh, hey 'Sami," I say, smiling.

Asami raises her emerald green eyes, and they're a startling contrast to the rest of her pale yet beautiful face. She bites the the end of the pencil and grins at us. "Oh hey there, you guys." She goes back to her sketching and I would normally be slightly disappointed by her unusually short attention span right now, but a sweet smile remains on her pretty face, making me forgive her workaholic tendencies. "What's going on?"

"That's what we were going to ask _you_ , haha." Opal slings an arm around my neck and I try to shrug her off, but at the moment I'm more interested in what Asami's doing. "This lil' peanut here had you on her mind all day - she kept on saying she wanted to see what you were up to."

I feel my face turning red yet again. ""Sh-Shut up, Ope. I was just wondering what Asami was busy with, that's all."

Asami places her pencil down for a moment to look at the two of us, and rests her chin in her hand as she releases a sigh. She tilts her head to the side. "Oh, well isn't that sweet." Asami reaches out and gives my cheek a soft pinch, which makes Opal laugh. "I was just drawing out an idea I had for what I'm going to unveil at Varrick's party. It's something I've had in mind for a few years, but never got to actually work on with my father. But now Varrick's giving me everything I could possibly need to build it, so I'm going to do the best I can to make it a reality." She reaches out to grab her pencil again, her hand flying across the paper elegantly as she continues her drawing.

I lean in closer, and I'm near enough to Asami that I can feel her body heat. She smells like flowers and something else - grease, maybe. It's an interesting combination, but it turns my stomach over and over in my gut excitedly. I guess Ikki was right about her smelling like flowers and vanilla and all that.

"What are you making?" I say after a moment, my voice soft but inquiring.

"It's an automobile. I wanted to make something that fused the retro and modern aspects of everything vehicular, combining them into one clean, classy car that enunciated an unique design, strengthened compatabilty within the environment of various settings, and handled speed like nothing. It would be something new and old at the same time, so hopefully it'll be welcomed by both classic and modern auto lovers. I don't think it's something that's really been attempted before, so I'm just crossing my fingers for now and hoping that the reception will go fine," Asami shrugs nervously.

I place my hand on her shoulder, giving her a warm smile. "I know everyone will love it."

"You really think so?"

"Yeah. You're brilliant; I'm sure people are going to appreciate whatever you make."

"Awww… Thanks Korra. You're so sweet."

Before I know what's happening Asami reaches up to me, catching my face with her hands and planting a kiss to my cheek. Then I'm let go, the warmth of her hands melting away from my face as she grins, tucking her hair behind her ear. My heart beats loudly in my chest as she giggles, and Opal's death grip I can barely register as I'm falling deeper and deeper into what I can only call love with the girl before me.

"Why don't you guys hang around for a bit? I'll try to finish the blueprints today so that tomorrow I can start building it."

"Sure, Asami. Korrie and I'll find someplace to chill for a while." Opal tugs me tighter into her, but I can't find the strength to rip myself away. Asami's left me seeing stars. "Right this way, Korra." Opal walks me over to Asami's convertible, which is still sitting here in the garage. It's almost done, from what Asami's told me. She said she was going to make a few more adjustments before she brings it home, and I remember once she said the day her and I were both here last that she wanted to add rocket boosters or something. I hope she was joking about that, because I know that idea probably won't end well.

Opal opens the convertible back seat side door and we both slide in. I exhale deeply, laying my feet across the back as I fold my arms behind my head. I know I can't see myself, but I'm sure there's a goofy smile on my face.

"Someone's in looooove," Opal says in a sing-songy voice as she reaches over to the front passenger seat, grabbing a couple of magazines and plopping back down into her chair.

"You're a jick." I shove her with my foot and she giggles, throwing a magazine my way. It lands on my chest and I pick it up, examining the cover for a moment before raising an eyebrow at her. " _People_ magazine?"

"Hey, they're not mine, I think they're Asami's. Unless they're Varrick's or Zhu Li's, but I don't know what those two like to read." She opens up her own magazine. "I personally like reading them, I don't know about you."

I shrug again, opening up my own. "I guess they're alright." Might as well read it, we're not sure how long we're going to be here waiting for Asami to get finished with her blueprints. Hopefully it won't be long, but you never know. And I probably won't be able to handle staying next to her for too long if she keeps on kissing me and making me feel all weird inside. The feeling isn't bad, per se, I actually like it when Asami does all that (although I probably won't admit it to anyone out loud) - but when Opal's around, most of it just comes back to bite me in the butt, if you know what I mean.

I'm busy reading the latest celeb gossip when Opal kicks me in the stomach, her foot digging it's way under my jacket.

"Ow - hey! Watch it, Ope." I push her foot away with my magazine, but when I look at Opal she doesn't look like she's trying to annoy make by playing a stupid game of footsie. I frown. "What is it?"

"Look at this." She crawls over to me, and the two of us sit upright as she unfolds her magazine, pointing to a picture.

It's me and Asami. From the time we were at Disneyland, the day after our first official date (that kind of also turned out to be a failure on my behalf).

"You're in here, Korra." Opal whispers to me, and I grab the magazine, pulling it closer to my face. It's weird, seeing me in a magazine. I mean, I'm no one… But _Asami_ … She's someone.

"Did you know about this?" Opal asks me quietly, and I shake my head.

Then I think it better to elaborate, if I might not be making the most sense, which I'm sure is pretty much most of the time. "Well, I mean I knew about Asami and I going to Disneyland, because of course I was there - but no, I didn't know this was in magazines…" I look closer at the picture. Yup, that's definitely us.

As a matter of fact, it's not just us - it's me and Asami, my girlfriend's arms wrapped around my waist as she kisses me lovingly on the cheek. Above the picture is the headline: _Asami Sato - Not a Boyfriend This Time!?_ and then below that _Boy or not, she's got them all wrapped around her finger._

There's a few paragraphs wondering about who Asami's 'mystery lover' could possibly be, and then the page beside it is about her and her father - what happened that night at the Future Industries meeting, where Asami was humiliated by everyone. I read on a bit more, my eyes scanning the page like a computer and from what I gather the fight that occurred at the meeting was because of this 'mystery lover' (heck, I know it's me but other people don't know who I freaking am).

It's strange though. Asami never told me that the fight with her father had been about me - she just said that he had slapped her in front of everyone, and nothing else. There's a little bit more about her accident that occurred the same night, but other than that that's pretty much it. I guess with Asami staying with me they haven't been able to get anymore scoops since then.

But _this_ \- Asami and I being in such popularized magazines - this could explain quite a few things. Like why people have been staring at me at school for the past few weeks. Why I've been feeling kinda insecure about that. At first I thought it was just me being paranoid, but this actually makes sense. People knew about me and Asami even before I knew they did - and it's been a while since we first got together. Maybe around almost a month or so.

"So…" Opal bites her lip, and we meet each other's eyes. "Asami didn't tell you about this?"

"No…" I shake my head again. "No, she didn't."

"That's weird." Opal's voice is still low and hushed, and she glances over at her shoulder at Asami, who's still busy working on her blueprint sketches. She has the radio on to an oldies station, and she's humming happily to the swinging tune. It makes it a bit easier to talk to Opal like this if she's busy, actually. "I wonder why she didn't tell you anything. I mean, I'm pretty sure these are her magazines - they were here in her car. And if you look at the release date, they're pretty recent." She flips over the magazine and points to the bottom corner with the date. "See? Just came out a few weeks ago."

"Yeah…" My head is pounding, and it feels unnaturally heavy, like it's made of lead. I lean myself against the car's door. "I wonder why she didn't tell me anything," I mumble, and Opal backs away slightly.

"I - I don't know if you want me to get involved, so I won't if you don't want me to. I just thought -"

"It's okay, Ope," I wave a hand at her lazily. "Thanks for letting me know, because I didn't until now." I sit up straighter and reach over to her, grabbing her by her jacket's sleeve and pulling her over to me until our faces are close together. "Don't tell Asami about this, okay? I'll try to talk to her on my own when I get the chance."

"Yeah, sure…" Opal goes back to her own side of the seat and so do I.

We remain in silence, thinking about what we've just discovered for the remainder of our time there in the garage as we wait for Asami.

* * *

Bo and Mako are still at home when Asami and Opal and I get there. It's close to dinner time, and not surprisingly they're helping my mom prepare some food. I'm know all those years they spent alone without parents really made them self-supportive, because they're literally like two of the best cooks that I know. Almost better than Katara, and Katara's cooking is like, _ah_ -mazing.

On the car ride to Varrick's the two brothers told us that they weren't able to keep the Future Industries guys away by themselves, but with a little help from my dad they were able to scare them off for the time being. That doesn't mean that they won't still come back looking for Asami, but hopefully the party Varrick's having in a few weeks will be able to change that.

Bolin unties his flower apron and throws it on the counter the moment he sees me and Asami and Ope enter the kitchen, dragging our feet like weary travelers.

"Ohmygod, I can't begin to tell you how much I missed you Opal - I was literally scared out of my mind when those guys in black suits came that Asami's dad sent!" He's got Opal wrapped in a bear hug, and she's laughing as he tells her everything that happened this morning. "Those guys were scary! They looked like they could have been secret agents from Area 51 coming to abduct me and Mako because we knew something we weren't supposed to, like in some freaky sci-fi movie where the main characters don't know anything that's going on -"

"Bo, Bo…" Opal pats Bolin on the cheek. "You're fine, right? You're fine now."

"Yeah, don't overreact Bo." Mako makes his way over to us, wiping his hands on a kitchen towel. "Things didn't get that bad when Tonraq came."

My dad looks up from his spot at the dinner table and laughs. "Oh yeah - those guys didn't want to mess with me after they saw my guns." My dad flexes, and my mom laughs as she continues chopping some vegetables on the cutting board.

"Oh stop it, Tonraq. We just told those men that they couldn't search our house without a warrant… I don't think they were really scared of you and your arms."

My dad blows a whispy raspberry. "Yeah, whatever you say Senna. Hey, is dinner almost ready?"

"In a bit. But don't think you've tricked me by changing the subject." My mom pours the rest of the vegetables that she's finished cutting into a pot on the stove before turning to me and the others. "Thanks for all your help today, boys." She leans in to give Mako and Bo a hug, wrapping her arms around each of them. I'm sure she feels as though the two are just like family, because honestly we don't see them as anything else. After my parents learned that Mako and Bo were orphans in middle school (yeah, it's been a while), she kinda decided to take them in and treat them extra nice whenever they came over to our house to hang out with me.

"No problem Senna," Mako says, smiling at her. "I guess Bo and I better get going now; Opal's going to take us home."

"You aren't going to stay for dinner?" My mom looks a bit disappointed, but she knows just how busy Mako can be sometimes with his new internship with the police.

"Nah, I got work tonight - thanks though. Come on Bo." Mako grabs onto Bolin's thick arm, and his brother whines.

"Aww, Mako! Can't we stay?"

"No Bolin. Opal has to get home too, you know. We can come again later."

Bolin crosses his arms, and Opal giggles. "Fiiiinnnee…"

"See you later, Senna, Tonraq!" Opal waves to my parents as she follows after Mako and Bolin as they begin on their way down the hall toward the door.

"Bye Opal! Thanks for coming!" my mom calls out, and I sigh. Literally, I don't know who's better friends with my friends - me or my parents. "Take care and come back soon, okay?"

"Yeah, definitely!"

The door shuts gently behind Opal as she closes it, and then a few moments later I hear her start the engine of her green buggy. The headlights shine through the living room curtains as Opal pulls out of the driveway and begins heading down the street.

"Are you girls hungry?" my mom asks. She's still at the stove, stirring the pot of what I'm guessing is soup. It smells good; she probably added some of that meat we had left over from last night, but it's just a guess.

"I'm actually going to take a shower first, if that's fine. I was working a lot today over at StoneTech, so I probably smell like grease and oil," Asami laughs lightly, pointing upstairs to where the bathroom is. "I hope you don't mind."

"No, of course not! Take as much time as you need; the food will be ready whenever you're ready. We'll wait for you," my mom says, and I lean back against the kitchen island as I cross my arms.

I can't keep from staring at Asami - after what Opal showed me this afternoon, it's got me really curious as to why she didn't tell me anything about us being spread throughout the media (it could also possibly explain why my parents didn't seem to be too surprised about me and Asami being together - maybe they knew even before my mom saw me and Asami kiss?), but more importantly why she didn't tell me that the fight that occurred at the Future Industries meeting was because of me.

Why didn't she tell me any of that? It hurts me to know that she didn't want me to find out about any of it, if that's really what she's doing.

Asami turns to me, her gentle eyes meeting mine for a moment. She smiles at me, but I look away quickly as my face heats up, and I try pretending that I wasn't staring at her the whole entire time she was talking to my mom. "I'll come back in around half an hour, I guess." She gives me a little wave and begins heading up the stairs. "See you at dinner, Korra."

"Uh, yeah… See you then."

The subtle bubbling of whatever's cooking on the stove resonates throughout the kitchen for a few seconds as Asami climbs up the stairs.

"Uh, hey mom, I'm gonna go visit Katara for a bit before dinner." I push myself up off of the island and stick my hands in my short's pockets.

"Oh, okay sweetie. See you in a bit."

I trek up the stairs softly, hoping that Asami's already in the shower. I peer carefully into my room, the door wide open and Naga snoozing on the floor. I look down the hall and see the light underneath the bathroom door on, which means Asami's in the bathroom already. I make my way into my room and sort through one of my drawers for a shirt, which I put on over the bikini top before zipping my jacket back up. I thought it'd be best to grab a bit more clothing before I head over to Katara's, but I don't think I'll have enough time to fully change.

I kinda want to talk to her about some stuff, and I also have to return her car (so I have an excuse for heading over there).

Tip-toeing out of the room as to not wake Naga I head back downstairs and open the front door, chilly afternoon wind scratching at my cheeks. I tug the jacket's hood over my head and get into Katara's car.

It's literally only a matter of seconds later that I pull into Katara's garage, just being directly behind my own house. I close the garage door and make my way into Katara's house. I can hear her in the living room with the tv on, playing something that sounds like a football game.

"Katara, I brought your car back…" I enter the living room, which is heavily laden with the scent of recently smoked cigarettes, and find Katara sitting on the couch, a bowl of slowly dying cig remains in front of her. A cat brushes itself up against my bare leg and I lean down to pet it before it scampers off.

"Korra… You came back. Have a seat." She pats the place beside her before getting up, heading over to the large window at the side of the room and opening it slightly. Katara's always smoked; as least for as long as I've known her (which has pretty much been my entire life). She knows that smoking's bad for her lungs, but I think it's a hard habit for her to break. From what I heard from Tenzin she smoked when she was young, but dropped it after she met Aang, her now deceased husband. After Aang died she picked up the habit again, and this is how she's been ever since. It's nice though that she thinks of others when they're around and she's smoking; sometimes people aren't that polite and leave you suffocating.

"Thanks." I take a seat beside her and sling my arm over the back of the couch as Katara makes her way back to me.

"You didn't bring your friends with you…" Katara's voice is slow and gentle, and her eyes are focused on the screen just like mine are at the moment. It's not like the both of us are really interested in the game anyways. I'm just trying to keep my mind off of Asami, but the men running across the field on the screen passing a ball to each other aren't really helping as much as I would like.

Katara places a warm hand on my back. "What's wrong, Korra?"

I sigh. "It's… It's Asami. I think she's been keeping secrets from me. I didn't bring her because I wanted to talk to you alone. She's at home right now getting ready for dinner." I feel bad saying this to Katara, about how I don't want Asami to know that I'm here talking to Katara about her behind her back. But really, I'm kind of worried about this. About Asami.

Katara takes a deep inhale of her cigarette, blowing out the smoke after holding it for a few seconds. She places her cigarette down in the dish. "What kind of secrets is she keeping from you?"

I grab a pillow from beside me and tug it to my chest. "Well, I don't really know if I'm positive about all of them yet, but so far I have a few ideas…"

Katara waits for me to continue.

"For one thing, me and Asami went to Disneyland a while back. It turns out there were some reporters or something there - I don't know - and they got pictures of us. There's a picture of Asami kissing me that showed up in a magazine I saw today…" My eyes widen as I just realize that I started talking to Katara assuming she already knew about me and Asami. "W-Wait I don't think I told you about me and Asami being -"

"Shhh." Katara pats my hands, which I only realize now I've been furiously wringing together over the top of the pillow. "Don't worry, you don't have to explain."

"I - I don't..?"

"You love who you choose to love. Who am I to judge you?" Katara's smile stretches into a small yet strong grin. "I kind of had the feeling there was something going on between you two when you first walked into my house earlier today." She chuckles as she shakes her head. "You and your crazy yet fun ideas… You're so much like Aang, Korra."

I look down at my hands, which are covered by Katara's aged, wrinkled ones. She always tells me how much I remind her of her husband, and sometimes when I was younger I would stare at the picture of her and him she still has hanging up on the walls and try to imagine what kind of person he was, if he was so much like me. Katara would always tell me such amazing stories about him, and all the adventures she and her friends had when they were younger. It may seem strange, but the more she tells me about him the more I feel like I really knew him.

I'm quiet for a while, meditating on Katara's words. Not so much about me being like Aang, but about her not judging me for who I choose to love. "You… You knew about me and Asami?" God, the more I talk to people the more I think they all know more about me than I do myself. It's weird, but it's giving me a better idea of how thick I actually am when it comes to love and all that. Never was really good with all of those complicated things.

Katara squeezes my hands gently. "Let's just say that the way you looked at each other was something I recognized from long ago," she smiles, and I quirk an eyebrow. I know she's talking about Aang and herself, but was I really looking at Asami like that while I was in the kitchen with her and Opal? Man, I think I really need to get a hold of myself when it comes to ogling Asami. "Plus, I kind of happen to see your light on at night sometimes…"

I immediately feel heat rush up into my face, and I jerk back to show Katara my bewilderment. "Katara! You - You spy on me and Asami?!" I exclaim.

Katara laughs and picks up her cigarette again, taking another large inhale. "I just _happen_ to see you, darling. Of course I don't mean to do it on purpose." She smirks at me. "But let me tell you sometimes you two are at it for quite some time - and on school nights too!"

I stuff my face into the pillow and groan. This is so embarrassing. "Uggggh, Katara…" The words come out muffled, but Katara chuckles even still.

When I'm finally calmed down I lower the pillow and turn to pout at the old lady, and she gives me a sweet smile instead of another antagonizing laugh.

"Sorry sweetie. Go ahead and finish what you were telling me. I promise I won't say anything more."

I stare at her for a few moments challengingly, and when I finally think she means what she says I release a long breath. "Okay… Well anyways, Opal and I found this picture of me and Asami in a magazine. There was also some other stuff in there about the fight she had with her dad at the Future Industries meeting the night she got into a car accident… They said that the fight had been about me - about who she was dating." I clench my hands together tighter than I had before, enough to cause my knuckles to turn white. "I - I don't know why she didn't tell me any of that before. Why she's been hiding the secret that the reason why she had that fight with her dad was because of me." If I really am the cause of the fight, then wouldn't it only make sense if I said it was my fault she got humiliated in front of everyone there at the meeting?

"Korra, you can't always think that what you read in those magazine is true," Katara says. Her hands have somehow managed to find their way back to mine. "But considering that Asami's moved in with you, it could possibly be true - that she left her own home because he father didn't agree with her choice of who she decided to date." Katara's quiet for a moment as I take her information in. "Has it occurred to you that perhaps she didn't tell you this because she didn't want to hurt you? To make you think it was your fault?"

I bite my lip. No, that actually hadn't occurred to me at all… But it sounds like something Asami might do, if it meant having to spare me worry and guilt. "B-But Katara… It _is_ my fault. I was the one who did this. I'm the reason why she left her dad."

"Now don't get me wrong, I don't know everything about Asami Sato, and certainly not as much as you know about her -" Katara turns back to the tv. Her face is focused. "But I get the feeling that girl has a good heart. And I know she wouldn't do anything to hurt you intentionally… So please Korra, won't you give her the benefit of the doubt? At least until you find out the real reason as to why she may be hiding these things from you, if she really is."

My jaw clenches and I curl my fists tighter for a second, releasing them. Katara's right. I don't have any idea why Asami would be hiding this from me, so it'd probably be best to talk to Asami about this myself. Katara's never been wrong - she's always been there for me, whenever my parents weren't because of work or their busy schedule. When I was alone (and even when I wasn't) Katara would always welcome me; she was always the one I would go to, and she's showed me so much love all these years. Of course I'd listen to Katara.

"Okay. I'll talk to her," I say, smiling at Katara as I meet her bright blue eyes.

"That's my girl." She pats my back gently as I stand up, Katara doing the same. She wraps me in a hug before giving me a light shove. "Now go run along now - you're going to be late for dinner if you don't get back."

I laugh, letting my hand trail down Katara's arm. My fingers dance over her own for a few seconds as I intertwine them before letting go and backing away. "Thanks, Katara - for everything."

"You're welcome, Korra. Come back next time, alright?" She smiles. "And maybe then I'll get the chance to talk to that beautiful girlfriend of yours - see how she's treating you."

I know I'm blushing again because Katara laughs, and I open my mouth to say something but nothing seems to come out. Instead I stumble over to the front door and open it, walking back outside. I turn back to see Katara standing in the doorway with a gentle smile, waving at me as I head on down the sidewalk and back to my own house.

Hopefully I'll make it back in time for dinner - I don't know why I just realized it now, but I'm starving.


	25. Chapter 25

**Truth: It Can Either Hurt or Heal (so which is it?)**

My breathing is quick and shallow as I sit in bed with my knees tugged up to my chest, waiting for Asami to come back into the room. I couldn't find the courage to ask her about the magazine after dinner, because she said she had a few more ideas pop into her head while she was in the shower, and so had decided to draw a few off-to-the-side sketches for a few hours.

I sat by myself for a while downstairs with Naga, the two of us mindlessly devouring a box of animal crackers while Asami worked upstairs on her drawings at my desk. I was too scared to go up there and talk to her about it while she was working, and she seemed in such an excited mood too that I couldn't make myself ask her about it then.

But I guess I've come to the end of my rope now… I just finished brushing and flossing my teeth, as well as changing into my sleepwear, and Asami's doing the same. In a few moments she'll come in and sit down in bed with me, and I'll have to tell her about this stupid thing that's been bothering me all day ever since Opal and I found out at StoneTech… Not that it's stupid, because it's not - I really want to know the truth. It's just stupid that I'm so tense about this. Like literally I think I'm close to hyperventilating.

"Hey babe." Asami walks back into the room and I jump. She stops by the bed and stretches her arms above her head, yawning in the process before pulling the sheets back and sliding underneath the covers.

"Oh, uh, hi -" I reach over and turn off the lamp light off that's sitting on the nightstand. I can feel my heart still beating loudly in my chest. It happens a lot when I get nervous about something, and I know for a fact that I'm extremely nervous about this.

"I'm so tired," Asami says, and she does sounds tired - but I can imagine her smiling in the dark. She sounds happy too. "But I can't wait to go back to Varrick's tomorrow to start working on the car, since I'm about done with the blueprints."

I hear Asami rustling the blankets as she turns in bed, probably to face me (I have my back to her). "O-Oh, that sounds good." I clench my jaw, mentally slapping myself into shaping up and asking Asami what I need to ask her.

I feel her warm arms wrap themselves around my waist and my breath hitches. "You're coming back with me tomorrow, right?"

"Y-Yeah."

"Opal too?"

"I - I think so."

Asami sighs happily, and I can feel her warm breath tickle the back of my neck. Ugh, she makes it so hard to concentrate… If it wasn't for this problem nagging at me to talk to her I probably would have lost the majority of my mind by now (unless I already have?), with her silky smooth arms around me, her flowery perfume-y smell, and the way she breathes across my neck…

Okay Korra, get a grip on yourself.

Alright, here goes - "Um, Asami, there's… There's something I wanted to talk to you about…"

"Mhm?" Asami hums in reply, and I close my eyes tight. She already sounds so relaxed, and I would be frustrated with myself if I happened to make her mad or anything.

"I - I was looking at the magazines you had in your car with Opal earlier today… Uh, we found a couple of articles about you and me."

Asami is silent, although I notice the hold of her arms around me tightens some.

"...Why didn't you tell me the truth about the fight with your dad? That it was -" I take a deep breath through my nose. "That it was my fault?"

"Korra…" Asami's arm reaches further over me, her hand gently grabbing me under my ribs and trying to turn me over. I comply but remain quiet.

Our eyes meet when I'm finally settled, and she looks away for a moment. "I -" she furrows her brows and shake her head. "Why would you think it's your fault?"

"Because it said so! The magazine said that you were fighting about your 'mystery lover', which happens to be me, although the press doesn't seem to know who I am at the moment," I blurt out. "How could it not be my fault if I really was the one you were fighting about? Why didn't you tell me the real reason of why your dad slapped you?"

My gaze is intently focused on Asami's pale face, her green eyes appearing to glow in the faint moonlight pouring through the window. A lock of her jet-black hair falls down into her face and I want to tuck it away behind her ear, but I'm afraid to do it. I stare at her, and although she's kept our eyes locked for the amount of time I've been talking she looks slightly hurt.

"I - I didn't want you to think it was your fault," she says quietly, her voice almost a whisper. "I didn't want to hurt you."

"But it _is_ my fault."

Asami quickly moves her hand from my hip to my cheek in a flash, caressing it carefully as she pulls me close into her. Our foreheads touch, and I'm kind of taken aback by the suddenness of it all that I can only focus on the cat-like, ivy green of her eyes instead of what I would probably be looking at in a situation like this (her loose top is falling down a bit too low, allowing a pretty generous view of some moonlight-contoured cleavage).

"Don't ever blame yourself for a choice that I make," she tells me, and I gulp, trying to nod at the same time. "You're a choice I made, and one that I don't regret either." She smiles at me. "You're the best choice I've ever made, and I don't want you to ever feel sorry about that."

"O-Okay…" I mumble, still entranced by the vivid green of her irises. So much for feeling frustrated earlier. "But - But I thought you were hiding that stuff from me…"

Asami giggles. "I guess you could say that I _was_ hiding it from you, but I won't hide things anymore, if you'll feel bad for me not telling you about them. I just thought that you would take it the wrong way if I did tell you."

A short burst of laughter escapes my lips. "I guess I did, didn't I?" Yep. Katara totally called this one. I sigh. "Sorry about that."

"Don't be sorry. I guess I might feel a bit hurt too if you were hiding things from me, haha," Asami laughs. "That's part of the reason why I wanted to become your girlfriend; I wanted to be someone you could trust and depend on."

I frown. _Am_ I hiding things from her? Well, there is that thing about her talking at night, about her mom… Should I tell her about it?

"Well, uh, there is one thing I've been meaning to tell you about, other than what I've just said…"

"What is it?"

"Sometimes - okay, it's not just sometimes - it's pretty much like every night. Well anyways, you… You talk in your sleep." I pause for a moment, but I know that I need to tell her the rest. "You talk about your mom."

"Oh…" And now I'm not the only one frowning; Asami is too, and there's a cute little worry line across her forehead. It looks out of place there on her perfect face. "...What do I say?"

"You kind of talk about how much you miss her… How you're scared sometimes." I suck in another deep breath. "What - What happened?" I know I should have added 'If you don't mind me asking', but for some reason I couldn't say it. I just want to know. I want to know what's hurting Asami.

Asami's silent for a while, so I'm about to say that she doesn't have to answer when I hear her begin speaking. Her voice is soft at first and hard to hear, but as soon as I can convince my heart to stop beating so loudly I'm all ears.

"My… My mom was killed when I was small. I was six when it happened… Some robbers broke into our house, when we used to live in Washington. I know it's been a long time since it's happened, but I can still remember it so clearly. Almost like it was yesterday."

I don't know what to say. "I'm sorry, Asami." I grab her hand and squeeze it tightly.

She quirks an eyebrow at me. "It's weird though… I know I have dreams about her sometimes, but you say it's been pretty much every night?"

I nod. "Yeah. You talk about her a lot in your sleep. There isn't a night that goes by that I don't hear you -" I don't know if I should tell her this, but I do anyways. "That I don't hear you crying softly."

"I-I'm sorry, Korra…" Asami shakes her head again against the pillow. "I don't do this often… There must be something wrong with me…"

I seize her hand tighter, looking her straight in the eyes. "Nothing's wrong with you, Asami. I'm sure anyone who lost someone they loved so dearly would have dreams about them, just like you. Maybe it's just that something happened that's made you think of her more often…" I drift off, my gaze floating back to the worry line on her otherwise flawless forehead. I reach up and run a hand over it, a thought popping into my mind as I trace my fingers over the thin crease. "Maybe the accident."

Asami's eyes widen, and she gasps. "You're - you're right… Maybe that concussion I had did something to me, and that's why I'm dreaming about her so much now."

"Maybe you should go back to the doctor?" I suggest, but at the same time regret my input. I don't want to have to see Asami back at the hospital.

Then another idea comes to mind. "Or maybe Tenzin can help!" I sit up, beaming at my ingenuousness, and Asami follows (although she seems slightly confused).

"Tenzin?"

"Yeah! He's really into psychology, and back when I used to have problems he'd try to help me get a grip on things."

Asami chuckles, leaning into me slightly, and I blush. "You?" She does that thing where she lays a finger on my nose, and which also makes me incredibly self-conscious. "With problems? What kind?"

"Oh, well, uh…" I scratch the back of my head. "I kind of got into trouble a lot in middle school… Although I had Mako and Bolin, sometimes I was kind of headstrong and stubborn. It kind of got me into tough situations, and I found myself in the principal's office a lot," I laugh, although it's definitely not something I'm proud of.

"I see. You're still headstrong and stubborn, from what I know." Asami smiles gently and winks at me, not digging any further into the matter about me being a problem child. "Hopefully you're a little better than before though, right?"

I nod my head up and down rapidly, and she giggles again.

"Okay, I wouldn't mind seeing Tenzin. I'd much rather see him than go back to that dreadful hospital - that place was so boring," Asami says, leaning her head on my shoulder. She reaches over and takes my hand, resting it on her knee as she plays with my fingers.

Her contact makes my heart swell and I force myself to take even breaths. The moonlight dances across the crinkled bed cover, creating dark rifts and valleys of blanket around our bare legs. "U-Um, Asami, I know this doesn't have anything to do with what we're talking about right now, but I was wondering… The swim finals have been going on this past week, and next week we're going to have our last competition, since we've beat all our rivals so far… Will you - Will you come?" I say, the top of Asami's head snug against the side of my throat and her breath gentle against my collarbone.

"Of course I'll come."

The object resting against my neck moves away, and I feel cold until there's a small peck of soft, warm lips on my cheek.

I smile.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world."

* * *

Asami and I are in the kitchen eating toast when there's a knock on the door, followed by a few loud giggles. It definitely sounds like more than one person, and I sigh, cramming the rest of the toast into my mouth. Crumbs scatter across the counter as I huff, forcing myself to walk to the door where Naga's barking like a crazed mutt. Asami follows me, but with more grace and style and not making nearly as much of a mess as me.

I unlock the door and swallow my toast before crossing my arms.

"Hey! Good morning, you two!" Opal chirps excitedly. Bolin's standing beside her sheepishly with a wide but slightly timid smile on his dopey face, and he waves at Asami and me while Naga jumps on him.

"Hey there Korra, Asami. I hope you don't mind me taggin' along - Opal invited me to come along with you guys, since you're going to visit -" He stops short, bringing a hand close to his face and whispering like it's something top-secret as he pushes down Naga with the other. "THE Varrick's StoneTech plant!" He waves his arms around frantically, almost smacking Opal in the face and she brushes him away. "I can't believe this is actually happening! I mean of course I couldn't turn down an opportunity like this - first I meet Asami Sato, daughter of world-famous inventor Hiroshi Sato thanks to one of my dearest friends, and then she becomes girlfriends with previously mentioned friend, and now my girlfriend knows Varrick thanks to Asami -" He gasps, taking a much needed breath. "God, this is soooo exciting!" Bolin squeals like a fangirl, and I roll my eyes.

Opal raises an eyebrow. "Are you two good to go? Were you in the middle of something?" She looks at Asami, who wipes a smudge of strawberry jam away from her lips and licks her finger in a way that makes me shiver. Asami winks at me slyly, and I know she did that on purpose.

I gulp again, ripping my gaze from Asami's recently-sugarcoated dark red lips. "Uh, n-no - we were just finishing breakfast, but we're good now."

"Wanna ride with me and Bo? You can ride back in Asami's convertible since she's bringing it back home today."

Oh yeah, that's right (must've been spacing out again when we were talking about this earlier, whenever that was) - 'Korra' should be ready to go today, so Asami can bring us back in it. "Sure, sounds fine with me," I shrug, and Opal claps her hands.

"Great! Okay, you can sit in the back if you guys want," she starts walking over to her little green Volkswagen Beetle, both her and Bolin getting into the front seats. "Just make sure you and Asami aren't making out or anything in the back seat, because then you'll distract me and I might accidentally crash us."

I close the door behind me and Asami after ushering Naga back inside, and my girlfriend laughs softly as she eyes me. "It sounds like you actually want me to do what you said," I say to Opal as Asami and I get into the back seat. I'm thinking she's trying to work some reverse psychology or something, hoping to get a sneak peek of something I wouldn't do willingly in front of her even if she paid me.

Bolin turns in his seat and smiles. "I personally wouldn't mind seeing some fireworks," he says to me and Asami, and I cross my arms, putting a pout on my face.

No way. Like I said before, I'm not doing anything even if they ask me. It's like telling me to poop in front of all of them. Like, heck, I need privacy to do stuff like that! Kissing is no different, especially if it's with Asami - I mean, the girl's literally a goddess.

"I'd rather not put our lives in danger, thank you very much," I tell Bo and he sighs, sinking back down into the front passenger seat and turning on the radio as Opal pulls out.

"I'm so excited."

I turn my head to my left and see Asami gazing out the window, a hand under her chin and a gentle smile on her face.

"You're going to start building it today, right?"

"Yep." She pats the satchel she's brought with her lightly. "And I brought those extra sketches I made last night too. I can't wait to get started on it."

"I'm happy you're happy." I try to talk over Ope and Bo singing along with the radio, but just in case she can't hear what I'm saying I reach over and grab her hand reassuringly. I don't know if the affectionate mood I'm trying to achieve is working; the two people in the front seats sound like dying dogs. "Ope and I will probably be working with Varrick, but if you need us for anything you can steal us away if you want." Actually, I'd really prefer it if you stole me away. You can leave Opal with Varrick and Bolin - just take me.

"Okay, thanks - it's really sweet of you to offer your help." Asami leans over and presses a kiss to my cheek, one that I again was totally not expecting (she hasn't nicknamed herself the 'Kissing Monster' for nothing).

The car swerves, and Asami and I scream.

"What the freakin' heck, Opal?!" I exclaim brashly, my fingers death-gripping the armrest on the side of the car while my other hand presses hard enough into the seat cushion that it could become a new, morbid kind of ashtray. I notice Asami's in a similar position, her teeth grit in fright.

"I told you that I might crash if you guys kissed!" she refutes, but I know she totally did that on purpose. "You're going to jinx the car ride, you two - Bo and I are too young to die!"

"Oh shut up -" I kick the back of her chair and she laughs, Bo bursting out into laughter along with her while Asami and I just exchange glances. Asami blinks a couple of times before grinning, and then she begins laughing as well.

"Why are you laughing, Asami? Opal almost tried to kill us - I don't think that's something to be laughing about," I say, a little agitated that I'm the only one who's concerned about my friend's horrible driving skills.

"You worry too much - loosen up a bit." Asami chuckles before reaching over to pinch my cheek, and I cross my arms grumpily again. "Opal and Bo were just having a bit of fun."

I can tell this is going to be a very long car ride.

* * *

We've just finished with the second 'session' of our car commercial. Apparently Opal and I did a lot better this time around, and I'm thinking maybe it had to do with the fact that we kind of had the gist of things this second time. But now if I think about it a little bit more, for Opal, maybe the fact of Bolin being there gave her a little extra motivation.

"That was great!" Varrick leaps from his director's chair, raising his sunglasses as he calls out for Zhu Li. "Zhu Li, I'm kinda feeling the repercussions of using my voice too much. Could you hand me my drink?"

Zhu Li immediately whips out a large but thin glass of another fruity drink, similar to the one I saw him drinking the first time I met him, and Varrick gulps it down in a matter of seconds.

"Flameo, that's good…" He wipes his lips with his sleeve and sighs. "Alright, great job girls - I think we can finalize this baby in time before the party - I know it's gonna be a gamechanger!"

"You there!" Varrick points to Bolin, who's busy stuffing his face with various snacks at the refreshment table that's conveniently set up on one side of the studio. If that was there yesterday I wouldn't of had to waste two dollars on cookies for me and Opal, which I probably could have spent on just myself. I know, haha, I'm selfish sometimes.

Bo timidly points to himself and swallows. "U-Uh, are you talking to me?"

"Yeah. You - what's your name again? It has something to do with that game where you throw heavy balls at those white things, right? What are those things called again? I can't remember for the life of me..."

"Pins, sir," Zhu Li quips. "They're called pins. And the game is called bowling."

Varrick's face brightens up immensely. "Oh yeah! Bowling! Goshdarnit, I haven't played that game in a while - Zhu Li, make a note that I do that sometime when I'm free."

Bolin looks really confused. But honestly, I wouldn't blame him; Varrick is pretty confusing sometimes. "Am I in trouble? Cause I honestly didn't do anything - but if it's about the food, I'm really sorry, I just saw it all here and figured it was for free -"

"Get over here, kid -" Varrick tells Bolin before whispering something to Zhu Li, and I figure he's asking her Bolin's name. "Uh, Bolin! Yeah, Bolin - please come over here."

Bolin gulps, and meets my eyes. Opal and I shrug as we step out of the car and walk over toward him as he begins making his way to Varrick.

"You know Bolin," Varrick cracks his back and knuckles and does a few stretches before wrapping his arm around Bolin's shoulder. He looks my friend up and down with his light blue eyes. "Mhm - You look like you could be possible tv material…"

"Really?" Bolin says excitedly.

"Of course! You've got the looks, kid - y'know, I've been thinking about going into the movie business sometime soon - maybe you'd be interested?" He raises an eyebrow at Bolin, and Bolin practically shrieks in delight.

"Are you kidding me?! Yeah!"

"Perfect! Why don't you and the girls follow me to my office, and I could show you some of the ideas I have for a few movies - I'll probably start on them sometime after the party, not exactly sure when, but heck that doesn't really matter, does it? Life's always busy when you're a famous, incredibly charming and handsome millionaire genius inventor extraordinaire."

Someone's full of himself.

Varrick continues talking to Bolin, his arm wrapped around his shoulder as we exit the studio room.

"Those two sure seem like they're getting along well," Opal grumbles, crossing her arms.

I smirk, my previous thought lost thanks to Opal's dissapointment. "You're just jealous that Bolin's not giving you any attention. And you're even wearing that string bikini. I don't even know if I saw him bat an eyelash -"

"Shut up," Opal says, confusingly with a smile and a blush on her cheeks. Yep, she's totally head over heels for Bo. I wonder why she just won't admit it. I'm not even sure if the two are officially going out yet or anything; I haven't asked. They should, though - it's obvious that they're both obsessed with each other than what's considered normal (or healthy).

Opal and I examine the bear (his name is Ping-Ping) once in Varrick's office, occasionally prodding here and there at the dead beast. I still can't get over how cool it is, and I'm taking a picture of Opal when I hear Varrick tell Bolin that he'll see all of us soon, most likely the farewell. Opal's managed to climb into Ping-Ping's arms and has her head inside the monstrous animal's open jaws, a horrified look on her face, and I quickly snap a picture of her with both of our phones, chuckling the entire time.

"Did you get it?" She says excitedly, and I nod, showing her the picture. "Sweet."

"Now if you don't mind me, kids, I've got some more work to do." Varrick walks over to us, Bolin having joined me and Opal as we show him the picture we managed to take. "You'll all come back next week, right? Still got a little more to do with that commercial, but you two are naturals, so I know we'll finish soon." Varrick guides us to the door of his office, standing by the entrance as we make our way out.

"Um, yeah, we can totally come back next week," I tell him. "We'll hitch a ride with Asami and tackle that commercial." I smirk, making a fist and pressing it into the open palm of my other hand forcefully. "Piece of cake."

"Yeah," Opal waves a hand at Varrick. "We totally got this, Varrick - just leave it to me and Korra. By the time we're done with that commercial, it's gonna be a masterpiece."

Varrick smiles, nearly blinding the three of us with his incredibly white teeth. "You're darn tootin' right it is! I have faith in you, Korra and Opal - oh yeah!" He rubs his chin. "I won't be able to see how Asami's doing today, since my schedule's pretty tight, you know, getting ready for all those party preparations… But you'll tell her I said I hope everything's going alright with her and her invention, okay?"

"We most definitely will, sir," Bolin says for Opal and I, sounding quite genuine and more mature than usual. Maybe that little talk he had with Varrick about the movie business kinda gave him a new respect for the man or something.

Zhu Li comes up behind Varrick and adjusts her glasses. She looks down at her tablet, swiping across if a few times. "Sir, if I may remind you... You have the mecha tank hybrid observation in exactly three minutes."

Varrick's eyebrows shoot up. "You're right, Zhu Li! Okay, gotta be on my way to that -" He squeezes past my friends and I as Zhu Li follows him down the corridor once again. "Remember what I said and say hi to Asami for me! I'll see you young celebrities soon!"

Opal raises an eyebrow at me as we watch Varrick and Zhu Li fly down the hall, the two of them nearly out of our sight already. "Young celebrities? Hm…" She rubs her chin. "I kinda like the sound of that."

I crack a lopsided grin and nudge Bolin with my elbow. He's still stupidly waving at Zhu Li and Varrick, who are no longer in the hallway and are probably halfway to the testing garage already using that supersonic speed of theirs. "You okay, Bo?" I ask him, still grinning as I watch his face twist into a cheesy, extremely dorky smile that could probably slay Opal. The kid's probably starstruck, being inducted into the movie business and everything.

"Uhhhh not really…" Bolin drops his hands down to his middle, crossing his legs as his knees buckle together. "I just realized that I kinda have to go to the bathroom." He squeezes his green eyes shut for a moment. "Um, do you ladies by any chance know where I could relieve myself? It's kinda urgent."

I roll my eyes as Opal laughs. "Follow me, Bo," I sigh. I'm pretty sure I know where the guys' bathroom is; it should be right beside the girls' restroom, where I went the first time I came to StoneTech with Asami and I met Varrick and Zhu Li.

Surprisingly I'm right about the restrooms' whereabouts, and Bolin immediately dashes inside without a second to lose. Opal and I lean with our backs against the wall right around the corner of the men's restroom, just staring at our feet for around a minute until Bo bursts out of door and comes barreling around the corner, pretty much crashing into me and my friend.

"What has gotten into you?" Opal asks him as she rubs her side. "I thought you had to use the restroom - you're out pretty quickly."

"It - ha - I saw… there were two of them - those guys - urinal…" he manages between large intakes of breath, and Opal and I watch him wave his arms meaninglessly, his green eyes wider than usual.

I cross my arms. "What happened? You got stuck in the urinal or something?"

"No…" Bolin places a hand on the side of the wall as he tries to catch his breath. Really, going to the bathroom shouldn't be all that hard.

He raises up two fingers.

"You had to go number two?" Opal asks, and the the both of us crack into wide grins.

"No - Two guys… Talking about… Asami…"

My grin fades and I stand up straighter, clenching my fists. If this has something to do with guys talking about Asami, then I'll be sure to make it my business. "Who's talking about Asami? What guys?"

Bolin seems to have finally caught his breath, although his eyes remain unusually wide, like he's just seen a ghost. He swallows. "There - there were two guys in there, they came in right after I went to the urinal and began doing my business -" Opal and I exchange glances. "Okay, sorry, tmi - anyways, I had my back turned to them, but I saw them when they first came in - they were the same guys that came to your house yesterday, Korra," he pants slowly. "They were the ones looking for Asami!"

"Dammit…" I suck in some air through tight lips. What are those goons doing here? "What are they doing here? What were they saying about Asami?" I'm literally bursting with questions, but Bolin clasps a hand over my open mouth and I immediately feel like sputtering (heck, I don't even know if he washed his hands or not, considering what a rush he was in). He pushes me and Opal into the wall, shushing us as two men in black suits chatting carelessly walk past the corner (and us) and down the hall.

"That's them…" Bolin whispers carefully, and I gulp. He was right - those are definitely the same guys from the other day.

Bolin's strong grip falters when the two men disappear down the hall, and the three of us release breathes we weren't aware we were holding. My heart is pounding like crazy, and my mind is full of churning questions that I want to ask Bolin about what he might have heard.

I'm about to open my mouth when Bolin talks, silencing what words would have eventually come out.

Despite Bolin's usual cheery persona, his tone is uncharacteristically low and secretive - it's serious. "I heard them say that they were meeting with Varrick later after the thing he just left to… They know Asami's here."

This is so strange - why would Varrick be in cahoots with those guys that Asami's dad sent? There's gotta be some kind of reason why they're here.

"Guys -" I grab Bolin and Opal by their shoulders, keeping my voice down too. "We need to tell Asami about this. She's got to know that there's something up with Varrick and her dad."

My two friends nod determinedly as we break out of our little group huddle, and we don't waste any time as we make our way to Asami's garage in the arena.

When the three of us get there we're more than out of breath, and I spot a familiar pair of long, slender legs clothed by old, torn jeans sticking out from beneath the metal body of what's soon to be a car.

Asami pulls out from beneath her work and raises a flat face-protector thing from over her face. She's smiling as she turns off the metal welder in her gloved hand, and there's a few smudges of grease on her cheeks.

"Hey guys. What's up?"

"Asami… There's something we need to tell you," I say slowly, dread building up and clouding my confidence. My throat is dry as I examine her happy expression, and I already feel bad for undoubtedly ruining her day.

"Sure. What is it?"

"Y-Your dad and Varrick… We - We think they're planning something."

The excited glow in Asami's bright emerald eyes disappears as well as her beautiful smile, and everything is silent except for the distant roaring of engines as cars race down the track.

* * *

 **reviews and/or feedback is greatly appreciated! thanks for reading. :)**


	26. Chapter 26

**let us begin the much-anticipated asami pov...**

* * *

 **Everything's Better With You**

Korra and I go back home later after I finish the basic body of the car, once again arriving close to dinner time. The car drive home was somewhat silent, but it was mostly due to me sitting deep in thought. Korra was thoughtful as not to interrupt me as I drove us home in my convertible, and I'm sure that the sight of me nervously biting my lip was to blame for her timid behavior.

It's hard for me to believe that Varrick is doing something behind my back with my dad and my his 'henchmen', sending those lousy agents to come and check up on me or whatever it is they were doing. Trust me, I really would like to know what it is they're up to, but as much as I hate to admit it I'm also terrified of finding out.

I've turned off the engine after pulling up beside Korra's little blue four-seater, and I drop my hands into my lap, taking a deep breath of the cool evening air. I stare straight ahead at the leather steering wheel, not blinking.

Korra gingerly touches my hand and I shake my head slightly to bring myself back to reality. "'Sami… Are you okay?"

"Um, yeah… I'm fine," I laugh, but I know Korra's not buying it.

She stares at me with her intense blue eyes. "You don't have to pretend - I know it's probably hard for you, figuring out your dad and Varrick are up to something." She sighs and I only fully realize that I miss the warmth of her touch when her hand falls limply down to her side, leaving me cold. "It was hard for me telling you… I didn't - I don't want you to have to go through this, after all that's already happened to you," she says as she continues looking at me, a very honest tone to her voice.

I crack a small grin at the sincerity of her statement, admiring the adorableness melded in with her furrowed brow and searching eyes that seem to want to pry into my deepest thoughts in order to give me some sort of emotional comfort. In short, it's a look I can't resist.

"Don't worry Korra." I place my hand on hers and shake my head. "I'm not going to let this ruin things for me - whatever it is those two might be up to, I'm sure I can handle it."

"You - Really?" Korra sounds surprised.

"Mhm." I smile and turn toward the direction of the setting sun as it burns a trail of orange and purple down the center of the sky. "I mean, it's all really shocking for me to learn this too… But I think I shouldn't let it bother me. I think I should just keep on doing what I'm doing, at the same time keeping an eye out for anything that might be strange with Varrick. I mean, it's all I _can_ do -" I pause, turning back to Korra. "I don't want to talk to Varrick about it… I think it'll only make things complicated between the two of us, and with the party coming up I want things to go the best they can. I don't want to mess things up with my only chance to show my dad that I'm my own boss." I gulp, more than a little surprised with my own announcement. I didn't think I had that in me, but now that I've said those words I feel like I want to hold them true and live up to them.

There's a few seconds of Korra staring silently at the joining of our hands, and she seems to be lost in thought as she muddles over what I've just said.

Then she smiles up at me; she smiles that crooked, teasingly cute smile, and I instantly know she's not against me. "Okay. I'm with you Asami. Whatever you think is best, I'll stand with you."

"Great!" I grasp her hand tighter, giving it a hard squeeze. Then I release it and move it up to the back of her neck, which I gently run my hand over, pulling her in slowly until our faces are just a few inches apart. I feel her shiver against my touch, and I grin, breathing lightly onto her parted, eager lips. "You've said that to me before, you know," I giggle some, and she automatically leans in closer as I switch my gaze back and forth from her eyes to her lips.

Korra mumbles against my lips as she closes the distance between us. "Sorry," she apologizes, and I giggle into our kiss.

"It's nothing to be sorry for," I say, parting our mouths in order to answer her before going back at it.

Korra's mouth against mine delivers a sweet sensation, and I've come to realize that kissing her is entirely different than anyone else I've ever kissed before. Her lips are gentle and at most times cautious, uncertain; only seeking excitement when she knows the feeling is mutual. It's also cute at how when she really gets into it our liplock can get a little heated and messy, and it's especially delightful when she builds up enough courage to ease her tongue into my mouth if I haven't eagerly done so already.

She ever so gently runs her fingers through my hair before I pull away slowly, our breath hot on each other's faces as we keep our lips relatively close. I meet her eyes and my grin grows wider as I notice she's a bit out of breath and she looks kind of kiss-intoxicated.

"You look like you need some rest, babe," I chuckle, and she frowns slightly as I pull away and begin opening my car door to get out. I can already see the disappointment in her sky-blue eyes at me leaving her hanging yet again (I did say I enjoyed teasing her).

"I-I'm okay, really," Korra stutters out as she begins following after me, almost tripping as she closes the passenger door.

"No, I think you really do need some rest - tomorrow's going to be a long day if we're going to visit Tenzin after school," I tell her as I open up the front door, and Korra stares at me momentarily with a blank look before her entire face brightens up, realizing what I'm saying.

"You wanna go visit Tenzin tomorrow?"

"Of course; I think it'll be good to get my bad sleeping habits out of the way in time for all that other important stuff the two of us have coming up."

Korra jumps up into the air as she fist pumps, and then she runs over to me and throws her muscled arms around my neck, bringing me in to give me a kiss on the cheek. "Woo! Tenzin's great, and I just know he's gonna be able to help you - if he could help me, then I just know he's got the patience to help someone as perfect as you," she laughs, a light blush on her cheeks as I smile at her.

Korra closes the front door behind us, and Naga immediately runs up to the two of us, knocking me back into my girlfriend. Korra tries to stabilize me by grabbing my shoulders, but the force of the impact sends me spinning out of her grasp and the two of us tumbling to the hard wooden floor, Naga panting heavily by our side.

"U-Uh, sorry about that…" Korra's hands are on either side of my head, her face incredibly close as she lies on top of me with the most bashful look possible. "I-I'll get up." Korra attempts to push herself up, but I quickly move my hands to link them together around her waist. Her blue eyes dart around for a while before settling on my green ones, and I smirk as I feel her heart pounding steadily through her thin shirt against my chest.

"No, I like this," I tell her, and Korra's tense body relaxes some. She sucks in a nervous breath as I move a hand down to the back of her mini shorts.

"A-Asami…"

"Oh, there's that lovely girlfriend of yours."

Korra quickly sits up in a flash, faster than I can process what's happening, and then she's sitting on my stomach with her palms pressed against my abdomen. I feel like the air's been knocked out of me, almost like someone's punched me in the gut when she pushed herself up so forcefully like that. Ugh, that's gonna leave a mark…

I turn my head to see Katara standing in the hallway with Naga excitedly circling around her legs, a bowl of something that smells incredibly good in her wrinkled hands.

She takes a slurp of what looks to be noodles and smiles at me and Korra. "Are you sure you won't join your parents and me for dinner before you start working on Asami?" Katara smirks, causing Korra's face to turn a dark shade of red. It's probably the darkest I've ever seen it so far, but it's also super cute at just how embarrassed she can get.

"W-We weren't doing anything, really!" Korra waves her hands around, and I place my hands on her firm, bare thighs (which she doesn't seem to register as she futilely attempts to clear the air between her and Katara).

"Well, it seems like Asami has other ideas," Katara motions to me, and I smile at a confused Korra, who I'm now much closer to having sat up while the two were conversing.

Deciding to embarrass my girlfriend just a little bit more I grab Korra's burning face between the both of my hands and place a generous kiss to her lips. When I finally let go she literally melts away and forms a kind of human puddle on the floor as I get up and dust myself off.

I meet Katara's sparkling eyes and look back once at the nearly unconscious Korra, sending a wink her way. "Come on babe, Katara wants us to have dinner first before we go any further," I smirk, and Katara chuckles as she watches Naga attempt to try and revive her owner, although it's to no avail.

* * *

"Uh, you're sure we're in the right place Korra?" I ask my girlfriend apprehensively, and she nods vigorously as we stand in front of the door to the psychiatric wing of the local clinic not too far from school.

I stare at the sign on the door with a few names. Charlotte Prigmore PhD, James Din PhD, Tenzin Montu PhD. Then I stare at Korra for a moment, meeting her bright eyes. I know she's excited to see Tenzin, but now I think I may be having second thoughts about this. I gulp. "Really Korra, I'm not crazy, I just don't know what's wrong with me."

Korra giggles and places her hand on the door knob. It's silent in the hallway. "I know you're not crazy Asami." Her hand tightens around the handle, and she looks down at her shoes for a moment. "I think he could really help you though… I don't want you to feel like there's anything wrong with you, and I hope you don't think that I'm doing this because I think you're delusional or anything…"

Geez, I think I'm making this kind of depressing. I crack a small grin and place my hand on Korra's, pressing down on the knob and opening the door. "I guess I don't mind then… The session is free, right? As long as I don't have to pay I'll be fine," I joke, because obviously money isn't something I'm worried about; I'm just trying to lighten up the mood.

Korra's frown turns up into a slight smile and the two of us walk into the waiting room, stopping in front of the check-in desk. "Definitely - if it wasn't, I'd sue Tenzin for not letting my girlfriend or me in for free, haha."

"Harsh," I comment back before realizing the woman at the desk is studying us intensely, probably waiting for us to state if we have an appointment or not.

"And how may I help you?" the lady says in one of those fake voices that always make me want to tell those kinds of people I know they're totally dressing it up for the public. Even though I never do.

"We're here to see Tenzin please," Korra says. "He said he'd see us at 3:15."

The woman clicks her computer's mouse a few times as her eyes float across the screen. "I don't see any appointment for 3:15… What's your name?"

"Korra!" A joyful voice echoes across the room, startling an elderly couple sitting near the door. "Right on time, I see. This is a first."

"Heya Tenzin," Korra waves at Tenzin, and I glance back at the woman at the desk who seems utterly confused. It appears Tenzin realizes her disturbed state too because he waves at her as he walks over to us, wrapping his arms around both of our shoulders.

"Marge, I've got an appointment with these two girls at 3:15, so I'll be busy until at least 4."

"But sir -"

"If my next patient comes in early, tell them they'll have to wait a bit."

"I don't thi-"

Tenzin cuts off the other woman by ushering Korra and I through the door into the hallway, him and Korra chatting away like they haven't seen each other in ages. Questions about school, work and the kids arise, and then before I know it I'm sitting with Korra in Tenzin's office on a decently soft couch.

My eyes travel across the room as Tenzin fills a few paper cups with water from the water cooler in the corner, setting them before us. It's a nice, little, cozy room, the walls are painted a soft yellow and the couches and furniture are an assorted array of different browns and tans.

"Here's some water if you two are thirsty," Tenzin says as he takes a seat across from us, gently tugging up his slacks as he does so.

"Thanks." Korra immediately goes for the beverage, downing the whole drink in less than three seconds. She breathes out a relieved sigh, and I smile nervously. It's not that I'm intimidated by Tenzin, but I've just never been in this kind of situation before… I know Korra's said that she's had to come see Tenzin before, so that explains her lax behavior.

To my surprise Tenzin doesn't bring up anything else to say to Korra, instead turning his attention to me as he gives me a gentle smile. "How are you doing Asami?"

"U-Uh, I'm fine, thank you," I stutter back my reply. It's not like me to be so nervous, but I can't help it. "And how are you?"

"Fine as well." Tenzin takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, placing his hands together as he rests his elbows on the arms of his chair. "So Korra's told me that you were having some problems sleeping..?" His question is gentle, just like his eyes, but inquiring at the same time. Not intimidating at all, thank god.

"Yeah…" I nod. I'd better just get this off my chest. If anyone can help me, it's probably Tenzin.

"What do you dream about?"

I stare down at my combat boots. "I - I dream about my mom. I've dreamt about her in the past, but from what Korra tells me it's something that's been happening more and more frequently now, for some reason."

Tenzin strokes his beard thoughtfully. "Hmm… Do you have any idea why?"

"We think it might be because of that concussion she had a while back." Korra leans back into the couch and crosses her arms over her sweatshirt. "Do you think that could have anything to do with it?"

Tenzin nods at Korra's statement. "Well, I know that concussions do have profound effects on people after they've occurred. I'm not a doctor or brain surgeon, but I know that this is a mild repercussion," Tenzin says before falling silent.

I clench my fists against my jeans. "Is there anything I can do to stop it? Or at least make it so that this doesn't happen so much?"

"Well, not exactly. This is something that was triggered by the violent hit to your head. When something like that happens, it affects parts of your brain in different ways. The frontal lobe is the part of your brain that was damaged, I presume - it's the control center for emotional expression and memory, and I think that by getting into that car crash you probably brought back those memories of your mother. Does that make any sense?"

I bite on my bottom lip, but nod in response to let Tenzin acknowledge my agreement. That certainly explains why these dreams are popping up. But I still want to know what I can do to 'fix' this situation I've ended up in.

The three of us fall back into silence as Tenzin continues thinking. Then Korra speaks up again. "...Is there anything we can do, Tenzin?"

I glance at Korra out of the corner of my eyes and see her looking truly concerned. My heart wrenches at her sincerity, and I find myself smiling sadly. Korra's been so sweet about this whole thing; she even skipped swim practice today (even though it's the very last week, because of the final competition), which really surprised me. Of course it also really warmed my heart too, that she cares enough about me to come with me here when she could be doing something else, especially with the final competition coming up in a few days.

"I would think the reason why Asami is dreaming of her mother compulsively now is because they're memories that have been locked away for quite some time, only to be released when she got that concussion you mentioned." Tenzin crosses his arms over his chest. "Those memories had probably been repressed, and now they're searching for some kind of outlet, which happens to be Asami's dreams."

"This ish is getting deep…" I hear Korra mumble to herself from beside me, and I try to stifle a giggle while Tenzin sits up straighter.

"Korra, do you remember what I used to have you do when you were feeling troubled back when you were younger?"

"You mean meditate, right?"

Tenzin nods. "Meditation can be used to ease anxiety or stress, and that was exactly what you needed - a way to release that pent-up energy. It could be the same for Asami; she needs a way to face these issues, in this case her memories. Once she faces them, the dreams about her mother will most likely leave."

"That sounds kind of complicated," I laugh nervously. "I've never meditated before - how will I know that I'm doing it right, or that it'd even work?" I say to Tenzin, and the corner of his mouth twitches into a small crooked grin.

He looks to Korra. "You have the perfect teacher right next to you."

I turn to Korra, who's absentmindedly playing with the strings of her hoodie. After a moment she realizes that Tenzin and I are staring at her, and her eyes widen as she shoots up in her seat. "Oh geez, sorry - uh, were you guys talking about me or something?"

Tenzin chuckles. "I was just saying that you'd be the perfect teacher to help Asami learn how to meditate. Nothing serious," he says sarcastically, and I feel like chuckling again as Korra's cheeks take on a reddish hue.

Korra rubs the back of her neck. "Uh, I don't know… I mean, I wasn't exactly too good at it myself…"

"You weren't good at it _at first_ ," Tenzin stands up and walks over to the door, opening it up, and motioning for us to come over.

I stand up, confused. Are we really done with the session?

"But after a while and a lot of practice, you were able to improve immensely. I believe that you can really help Asami, if you truly try."

Korra's still sitting dazed on the couch, so I grab her hand and drag her over to the door, the two of us standing in front of a gently smiling Tenzin. "Do - Do you think meditating is really going to help, Tenzin?" I say to the tall man, and he places a hand on my shoulder before nodding.

"Yes. I absolutely do, Asami. How do you think I've survived the past five years with Meelo?"

Korra and I laugh as the three of us begin heading back on down the hall.

"Hahaha - that's totally true, Tenzin - yeah, I'm sure you'd need to be a master at meditating with Meelo around all the time." Korra tentatively moves her hand across my side, searching for my hand before grasping it lightly. I smile to myself. "And then you've got another one on the way, right?"

Tenzin sighs. "Don't remind me… Not that I don't want more children, it's just that sometimes things can get a bit overwhelming… Thank god for Jinora. I don't know what I'd do without that sweet daughter of mine."

I'm about to say thank you to Tenzin, as well as give him my condolences, before the bearded man pipes up again, sounding a bit desperate.

"Oh! I almost forgot, Korra… Pema and I were going to go out to dinner in a few days - you know, since we're about to have another one we thought it'd be best to have a little time together before things got busier," the man says nervously, and I can sense his tension. He scratches the back of his bald head. "Would you - Would you mind watching the kids again? I promise we'll be done with dinner no later than 9:30, and I don't want to bother mother…"

Korra shrugs. "I don't know Tenzin… I mean, I would and I don't mind, but this week I have my last swim competition. What day were you thinking of?"

Tenzin looks like he's mentally crossing his fingers. "Wednesday night?"

"Ooooh… Uh, that's the same day of my swim c-"

"I'll watch the kids for you," I speak up, and the two look at me like I've confessed to being an exhibitionist.

Tenzin fixes me with his pale gray eyes. "You - You will?"

"Yeah. I'm going to go watch Korra's swim competition; I'm sure the kids would love to come along. And I know Jinora could probably help me keep Ikki and Meelo under control, so I think we'd be fine."

"Oh my gosh, thank you so much!" I hear two voices say simultaneously, and I find myself captured between two strong pairs of arms. I can't tell who's happier: Tenzin or Korra. I'd feel really awkward if one of the other psychiatric specialists walked in on our little group hug.

"You're - welcome -" I choke out, feeling the voice in my mind screaming out hysterically for oxygen.

When I'm finally released I chuckle, and Tenzin opens the door to the waiting room wide with a similarly wide grin on his face. "Thanks Asami - you don't know how much this means to me and Pema."

"No problem Tenzin," I smile back, attempting to regain my breathe without it appearing too obvious. "Thank you for seeing me and Korra today; I really appreciate it."

"It was my pleasure." Tenzin waves to the two of us, and if I'm not imagining things I could have sworn Tenzin did a heel-click as he walked back on down the hall while Korra and I made our way back out into the waiting room.

Korra squeezes my hand as we walk past Marge at the reception desk, and the lady gives us a degrading look that the two of us completely disregard.

"You think seeing Tenzin helped?" Korra says to me as we walk out the door and on down the stairs.

"Yeah." I smirk at her. "But I think you're going to have to teach me how to meditate now, haha." I honestly wouldn't mind Korra teaching me anything, meditation, cooking, the abc's - I think being with her is the most fun I could ever have, no matter what we may be doing.

"I'll have to warn you though, I'm not the best teacher, haha." Korra rubs the back of her neck again.

"I'm more than fine with you as my teacher." I feel myself grow excited at the prospect of spending an undetermined amount of time sitting cross-legged in front of Korra, her trying to explain how to tap into a tranquil state and instructing me to close my eyes… And then once she does, I'd peek one eye open and lean in and -

"- fine with taking care of the kids? That was really generous of you - I hope those twerps don't cause you too much trouble," Korra laughs as we walk across the parking lot and to her car.

"Oh yeah, I'm totally fine with it." As long as I get to see you in your swimsuit, I'm fine with anything.

"Awesome. I promise I'll help you out with them as soon as the competition is over, so you won't have your hands too full." Korra gets into the driver's seat, and I slide into the passenger one beside her.

"Oh don't worry -" I grin, pleased with my genius. "I have a few other extra helpers in mind too."

* * *

Meelo jumps up and down in my lap while I shiver, and I tug the little boy closer to my chest as I look out onto the scene unfolding before us. His shaven head disappears and reappears in my field of vision and I frown. "Meelo, sit still - I can't see Korra."

"You have the same problem as me!" Meelo shouts back over the loud cheering of the rest of the people surrounding the pool. He points to the somewhat hefty lady in front of the two of us. "See this lady here? She's blocking my view!"

I cringe and put my hand over his mouth, silencing him before he can jump off of me and onto the other woman's broad shoulders. This isn't as bad as I thought it would be, but it's still pretty difficult watching him.

"How are you doing over there?" I lean over to my left, staring past Jinora at my side and catching Bolin's helpless gaze. Ikki's sitting in between him and Mako with a large foam finger on her hand that says 'CSULA', screaming Korra's name at the top of her lungs. Mako's arms are folded across his chest and he rolls his eyes.

"Uh, things are a little loud over here. How's it going for you?" He smiles nervously before jumping back in fright as Ikki leaps up, scattering her crackerjacks across him and his brother.

I shrug, my arms still tight around Meelo's waist. Jinora smiles up at me as she quietly clutches a thick hardcover book to her chest, and turns back to the churning water of the campus pool before us. "I think we're all pretty excited," I say to Bolin. Or maybe that was an understatement.

"GO KORRAAAAAA! FASTER! SWIM FASTER!" Meelo yells, and the woman in front of us turns around with an annoyed look on her face.

"Will you please tell your little brother to be quiet?" the woman growls.

Before I can apologize to her Meelo stands up on my lap and points at her. "Don't talk to my girlfriend like that - you want to get into a fight?"

"Meelo, Meelo, that's enough haha -" I pull the small boy back down into my lap as he squirms. I turn back to the lady. "Sorry about that. I'll make sure he stays quiet."

She humphs and turns back around as I sigh in relief.

Another loud scream comes from my left again, but this time it isn't Meelo - it's Ikki, waving her giant foam hand around. "KICK THEIR BUTTS KORRA!"

It's no use trying to calm her down; I'm too far away. Before the competition started the boys and I picked up Tenzin's kids after they got out of school, and then we headed over here to watch Korra and Opal. Before the three of us plus the kids headed in, we tried to decide who would watch who. Of course I volunteered to be in charge of Meelo, since this was my idea in the first place. Mako and Bolin were kind enough to come and help me out. Jinora doesn't need to be watched, so then that only left Ikki, who I thought would be a fair split between Bolin and Mako. It looks like they're doing okay so far. Not dying or anything quite yet, so I'll take that as a good sign.

"GO OPALLLLLL!" It seems that Ikki's and Meelo's excitement has been transferred to Bolin. Someone's certainly getting into the spirit, and I grin at his brother Mako's straight face while Ikki shakes her foam hand in the air, slightly fluffing his spiky hair. He picks out a few crackerjacks from the loop of his red scarf.

The whole competition has been pretty tight ever since it's started. I know Korra's told me that her team is really good, and I believe her. When I would come watch her and Opal (okay, I mostly just come for Korra haha) at swim practice, I coul tell that the majority of their team are pretty powerful and fast swimmers. None of them are exactly on Korra's level, since she's pretty much the best swimmer on her team, but this other school has a really hardcore team too - I can tell that Korra and Opal's team is doing their best to stay in the lead.

It's only a few minutes later until they're down to the last event, and Korra's team is leading by a few points. They'll need to hold their ground in this last event in order to win.

Korra does a few stretches as she waits by the edge of the pool, the muscles in her back glistening in the harsh light. I gulp and take a deep breath, realizing that Korra's doing the exact same thing as me. She looks nervous, but I know she's got this.

"YOU CAN DO IT, KORRA!" I shout, frightening not only Meelo (and I just got him to calm down too) and Jinora, but the large lady in front of us as well. She glares daggers at me, but I just stare on ahead at my girlfriend, feeling my heart swell with pride at just how far she's gotten in the tournament with her team.

As if by some miracle Korra somehow hears me and cocks her head to the side, her blue eyes meeting my green ones. I blush at my display of wild enthusiasm, feeling the blood rush to my cheeks as she shoots me a crooked grin.

And then the whistle blows.

Korra dives into the water, showing a kind of syncopation with the liquid like she's more familiar with it than anything else, and the two work together like clockwork.

She glides through the water in a manner I know her other competitor won't ever be able to match, and she easily takes the lead.

It's more than a suitable ending when she rises out of the water, pushing herself up from the concrete as water drips down her torso and her hair sticks to the sides of her face while the crowd cheers wildly. I literally think I've got all kinds of stuff in my hair now, it's not just Mako - crackerjacks, mustard from Meelo's hotdog, and the little boy himself (the woman in front of us was still in the way, he kept complaining, so I relented into letting him sit on my shoulders). Especially with everyone going crazy at the CSULA win, I'm probably going to have to do a bit of tidying myself up after this whole thing.

"YEAHHHHH!" Mako and Bolin shout simultaneously to my surprise as Ikki roars between them, caramel corn and rallying cheers/war cries spewing from her mouth.

"Yeah Korra!" Jinora shouts as we all cheer and the swim team surrounds my girlfriend, and I meet Jinora's brown eyes. She's remained fairly quiet this whole time, but it's nice to know that she's also excited about Korra's competition just like the rest of us.

"They won, Jinora!" Meelo ruffles his sister's hair from his spot on top of my shoulders, and she giggles. "Korra won!"

About half an hour later most of the crowd has left, and me and Bolin and Mako hang out on the empty bleachers with the kids while we wait for Korra.

"Hey guys," Korra waves as she walks toward us, looking a bit bashful, with Opal beside her. My heart picks up speed hearing her voice, and I meet her sky-blue eyes yet again before closing the distance between us with a forceful kiss as I wrap my arms around her neck, feeling her wet hair spill across the back of my hands.

I can hear a bunch of ooh's and ahh's coming from behind the two of us, as well as Jinora's muffled voice saying 'Don't peek!' before one of her sibling's disappointed groans.

I pull away and gaze into Korra's wide eyes as a smirk finds it's way onto my lips.

"W-What was that for?" she asks, and I giggle.

"What do you think? Congratulations, babe - you won." I grab her hand and turn to the others, expecting to hear Ikki or Meelo saying something about cooties. Instead I'm met by the sight of Opal jumping up to Bolin's level as she wraps her arms around his neck, giving him a quick peck on the lips. Jinora is still covering both Ikki's and Meelo's eyes while Mako stands awkwardly in the middle beside the kids.

Bolin's face is similar to how Korra's was after I kissed her, and his pale green eyes are darting everywhere as his face begins turning red. He grabs Opal's hand and squeezes it gently while he rubs the back of his neck. "U-Uh, great job out there, Opal…"

"Thanks, Bolin," Opal smiles sweetly, giving him another quick peck on the cheek.

"Can I look now?"

We all turn to see Meelo crossing his arms on the bottom bleachers as he sits between his two sisters, the girls fawning over Opal's and my display of affection.

"Yeah, they're all done with the kissing now, I think," Jinora says as she removes her hands from over Meelo's eyes. "You _are_ done with the kissing now, are you?" Jinora's inquiring tone makes me want to laugh, and I can't help but giggle at her seriousness.

"Yes, we're done with the kissing now," I answer.

"Good, because Jinora and I were having a hard time trying to not get Meelo and Ikki from biting our fingers off every time we tried covering their eyes." Mako rubs his hands together and shivers, cracking a small grin. "I really like my fingers."

"Oh come on, you're just jealous you don't have a beautiful gorgeous girlfriend like me and Korra do, heh," Bolin smirks. Opal blushes at Bolin calling her his girlfriend, and I smile.

Korra straightens the sports bag strap on her shoulder. "Hey, you guys wanna go get some pizza?"

"Isn't your team going to have a team party or something?" I say, thinking it only rational for a team to go on an outing together after an important win.

"I asked them if we could do it tomorrow night," Korra replies.

"You can do that?" Bolin looks surprised. "You're not abusing your powers as team captain or anything?"

"Heck no, they love me," Korra says as she waves a hand at Bo. She squeezes my hand and we begin walking on down the pathway toward the parking lot. "I'm really hungry, and I think pizza would be perfect. The breakfast of champions."

"It's not even breakfast," Ikki retorts, siding up beside the two of us as the rest follow on behind.

"It is in Japan," Korra states all-knowingly, and I just have to laugh at her lacking response.

"We're not in Japan." Jinora's calmly walking along beside her sister with her nose in her book, Mako next to her, and the two nod at the same time.

"Whatever. I just want pizza," Korra laughs as Meelo latches onto her leg, begging for her to lift him up. "Do I have to have any reason for wanting some? Cause literally, I think it'd be a sin to need to have an excuse for eating pizza."

Bolin bumps Korra in the shoulder, still holding onto Opal's hand as the two radiate a satisfaction I've come to know since meeting Korra. "Truer words have never been spoken."

"Amen to that," Opal chimes in.

"I think that settles it then," I say, glancing between the four of us as I squeeze Korra's hand tighter in mine. "We're going to have to go out for pizza, whether Mako or Jinora want to or not."

"Whoooooo~!" Bolin raises his pointer fingers in the air. "You hear that?" He leans back into Mako, who just shoves his little brother forward. Jinora continues reading her book. "It's six to two - beat that!"

"I'll beat _you_ ," Mako mumbles sarcastically, although it's loud enough for us to hear, and Bolin slinks away from his brother as we continue on our way to the parking lot, our laughter echoing into the night.

* * *

"Incoming!" Meelo practically pounces into my and Korra's laps as we begin settling into the booth around a large, round, wooden table. The pizza parlor that Korra chose was one that she said was pretty good, and that it was a great eatery to go to on weekdays because it was pretty packed on the weekends.

For some reason too I think she also has another reason for wanting to come here, thinking it has to do with Jinora, who's seemed distant the entire trip here.

"Meelo, get the heck off of my girlfriend." Korra grabs the little boy by the waist and places him on the other side of her, beside Ikki and Jinora. Opal and Bolin are sitting beside me on the other side, with Mako at the end of the table next to them. We thought it'd be best to make Meelo sit in between a few people so he wouldn't go running off.

"Can I go to the arcade?" Meelo asks excitedly, but Korra shakes her head.

"No, not right now. You can go after we eat, okay?"

Meelo picks up one of the foldout menus as he pouts, but settles with Korra's answer nonetheless.

"Jinora~" Ikki's voice floats across the table, catching my attention. "It looks like your boyfriend's working tonight."

Korra places her arm on the table to rest her chin on her hand. Although I can't see her face I can hear her smug voice, and imagine her sporting a mischievous expression. "Ooh, is that so, Ikki? Well I guess then it's Jinora's lucky day."

Jinora slams her book shut and takes a deep inhale through her nose, looking straight ahead. Mako, who's sitting across from her, sees me tracing her line of sight and shrugs, not understanding what's up with the mature girl's suddenly disturbed reaction.

"Who wants cheese pizza? I like plain cheese." Jinora picks up one of the menus.

"Plain cheese is fine with me," Mako agrees with a shrug.

"Opal and I would like a three-cheese pepperoni with stuffed crust," Bolin announces to the rest of us, and Korra cracks a grin.

"Okay. What do you want, Asami?" Now Korra's looking at me expectantly, and I don't know how to answer - her gaze is so intensely blue, and filled with a gleeful mirth that I'm sure it just made me fall head over heels for her again. Coupled with that crooked grin of hers, I just can't say no to a face like that.

"I'm fine with you - I mean - with whatever you want. I'm fine with whatever you want." I manage to catch myself before sounding like a complete lovestruck idiot, and turn my attention back to Jinora while Korra calls over the waiter. Suspiciously Jinora looks like she's attempting to read the menu (even though we're currently ordering), but at the same time she keeps on looking in the direction of the kitchen, like if she's trying to find someone.

"We'll take one large cheese pizza, one large pineapple with ham, and one large three-cheese pepperoni with stuffed crust," Korra tells the waiter before smirking when he raises an eyebrow, probably surprised with the amount of food we're ordering. "Sorry - we're fatties."

"Fatties for life!" Bolin says to Korra as the waiter walks away, and the two lean over the table to give each other a high five.

I notice Jinora's still looking toward the kitchen, remaining elusively silent although her siblings are literally bouncing with excitement at the thought of getting pizza for dinner.

And that's when I see him.

He's a young, tanned boy with a cute little mop of dark brown hair and startling green eyes, laughing from behind the kitchen window. He looks awfully young to be working, but I'm not one to judge. Maybe he has relatives who work here who let him help out for some extra cash or something. But yeah, he definitely has to be the one Jinora keeps on staring at… Although I can understand her being so uptight about him, with Korra and Ikki teasing her about what I'm sure is the crush she has on him.

Maybe I can help her break the ice. I mean, it's the least I can do for her helping me out by taking the time to explain to me Korra's past.

"Hey Korra, I'm going to go use the restroom, okay babe?" I nudge Korra lightly in the ribs, and she nods.

"Sure, lemme get out of your way." My girlfriend immediately scooches Meelo, Ikki and Jinora with but a deft move of her hip, and the three grumble as she pushes them out of the stall. "Move it move it - Asami's gotta go pee."

I blush. She didn't have to say that so nonchalantly.

Okay, whatever, it's not like I have to really go pee anyways. Plus, everyone goes pee, so I guess it shouldn't be a big deal.

I pass Ikki and Meelo, and when Jinora's about to sit back down I place my hand on her shoulder, stopping her. "Hey, do you want to come to the bathroom with me?"

Jinora looks back once at the cackling group at the table, and I can recognize the slight frustration on her face that she's undoubtedly trying to hide. She smiles back at me. "Sure, why not?"

The two of us head down the hall toward the kitchen, because I don't know where the bathroom is at all. And also because I don't actually need to go there.

The kitchen door opens up and someone steps out. It's the boy, the one Jinora was staring at earlier. He's got a floury apron tied around his waist, smudged with tomato sauce stains. He's holding a medium sized basket of breadsticks, and he stops in his tracks when he realizes that Jinora and I are standing in his way.

If I remember correctly the pizza parlor is pretty empty, aside from a few people at the bar - but like Korra said, things are relatively slow on weeknights.

In other words, the Krew is the only group of customers this kid's got at the moment. Which means those breadsticks are probably for our rowdy table.

The boy looks up at me before turning to Jinora, meeting her eyes for a moment. He laughs nervously, trying to hide what I think might be a blush. "Oh, uh, hey - I was just on my way to your table, haha."

"Oh really? I'll take that for you then, if you want." I reach out and take the breadsticks from him before he can do anything about it. "It'll save you some trouble. I don't think you'd really want to go messing with our table, even if we may be the only ones here right now." I grin at him, then raise an eyebrow. "You look a bit young to be working here. What's your name?"

I hope he thinks I'm not flirting with him; I know Jinora's probably sweating bullets right now, and I'm doing the best I can to break the ice and introduce her to him. Or something like that.

"Oh haha…" The kid scratches the back of his head and sticks his hands in the pockets on the front of this apron. "My name's Kai. I don't really work here, officially - it's more like a side-thing I kind of do to pick up a couple of bucks when I need some cash."

"That's neat." I say to him, extending my hand. Kai takes my hand tentatively and shakes it. "I'm Asami, and this is Jinora."

Jinora then extends her hand, tucking her hair behind her ear with her free one. The blush on her face is subtle and not too apparent thanks to the dim lighting. "Hi - I'm Jinora… It's nice to meet you."

Kai smiles at her. "Haven't I seen you before?"

Jinora rocks on the balls of her feet for a moment. "Um, I think sometimes we order pizza from you... You might have been to my house a few times, I think."

"Oh yeah - the last time you ordered a pineapple and ham, and then a cheese and a pepperoni, right?"

Jinora giggles, and I'm surprised the kid actually remembers the exact order, if it happens to be correct. "Yeah, we did."

"And then I got that really awesome tip too," Kai says excitedly, and I can tell he's becoming more comfortable talking to Jinora and me.

"That was from Korra - she's always really nice," Jinora says, and I smile, backing away slowly as the two continue talking.

"I'll just be taking these breadsticks back to the everyone…" I say to no one in particular, just happy to have accomplished my mission.

I make my way back to the table with a smile on my face and a basket of breadsticks in my hands.

* * *

 **sorry for the long wait. school and work have been consuming my life recently. ;-; i thought that since it's been a while though that i'd make this chapter longer to compensate, so hopefully you enjoyed it.**

 **thank you to all of you who reviewed last chapter, i really love getting praise from you awesome people! it makes me feel appreciated, haha. feedback is my food for the soul. :D**

 **and lastly i thought i'd say that there's another illustration for this story (aside from the cover art), which came out just yesterday - the link for it is on my profile page, and it's by deviantartist dilutra, so you should definitely check it out! it's some adorable korrasami with naga, haha.**

 **thanks again for reading (the next chapter will most likely be varrick's party, so stay tuned)! :)**


	27. Chapter 27

**phew. *wipes brow* sorry, i didn't update for a while because i wanted to focus on finishing school first - so guess what? I FINISHED SCHOOL! SUMMA, HERE I COME! that's one year of college in my pocket, heh. now only three more years to go... *withers away***

 **asami pov for you, dear readers.**

* * *

 **Just Breathe**

The ride to the Convention Center, the same place my father had his business party last time, was relatively quiet on my behalf. Varrick and I traveled by limo, and the man sat across from me with Zhu Li by his side. The whole entire time (which was only around an hour or less) he chattered away, and it was obvious he was trying to engage me in conversation. He talked about how he thought my new satomobile would be a big hit, better than any of the ones Future Industries was currently producing. He talked about how he was so excited, and that everyone would be happy to see me.

Of course I just sat there with my elbow propped up under my chin, occasionally reaching into my clutch to take out my compact makeup mirror and do a bit of touching up.

I didn't exactly feel like talking, and I think Varrick was starting to get the point when Zhu Li finally nudged him in the side and whispered something into his ear, to which he immediately mouthed a silent yet revelational ' _Ohhhhh!_ '.

Earlier that evening Varrick had called my cell, asking that I leave with him to the party when he came to pick me up. That wasn't the part that upset me - it was more the part where he said that he'd send a separate limo for Korra and Opal and the others (Varrick said it was fine if Bolin and Mako wanted to come along).

He never told me why. But when I had to spill the news to Korra, I could see her wilt in a way; her excited grin had begun to lessen, her voice sounded slightly hurt, and she left the room with silently with Naga by her side while I sat on her bed by myself, feeling like I had done something horrible.

So yes, you could say I'm disappointed with Varrick at the moment. Disappointed with what he had inflicted upon Korra and the others earlier, as well as me keeping in mind the secret he seems to be hiding.

"Well, we're here!" Varrick leans against the window, his breath fogging up the glass. "Would you look at the size of that crowd! I'm sure that's a crowd larger than the state of Texas! Or maybe China - China's pretty big." Zhu Li remarks something about China not being a state, and Varrick laughs. He looks at me again, and I meet his eyes for a brief moment before examining my fingernails. "They're all here for you, y'know," he says gently, but I remain quiet.

I can almost hear him sigh before he jumps right back into being his egocentric self yet again. "Let's go, Zhu Li! Tonight's a big night, and I just know this party's gonna be a hit! It's one of those feelings, you know? Like something great is about to happen!"

The limo door opens and Varrick slides out into the popping camera flashes and pestering paparazzi along with Zhu Li, and I slowly follow not too far behind. I ignore the questions and writhing bodies around us, an intricate fortress of large, well-built men ensuring that we get into the building safely and without any trouble.

Inside the Convention Center things almost seem to be exactly the way I remember them when I was last here, although the sight of StoneTech entrepreneurship relieves my anxiety somewhat. I almost expect my father to come out of one of the admiring flocks of various high-end individuals, and I find myself putting distance between the guests.

A sudden tightness grips my chest as I weave in and out of the crowds, throwing the occasional greeting or wave of acknowledgement to faces I cannot match with names. Faces I don't remember, or haven't seen before. People who only associate me with my distinguished last name, or with what I most likely will inherit at some point.

I feel sick. I wish Korra was here.

My stomach churns violently as I fly down the halls, desperately trying to find some place where I can have peace. Somewhere that doesn't remind me of what happened the last time I was here.

I grit my teeth, frustrated at how easily I've gotten worked up by just my surroundings and my tendency to recall unfortunate events. I shake my head of the disturbing thoughts and am about to make a turn around a corner to a hopefully more desolate part of the building when a strong hand seizes my arm.

"Asami."

Varrick is looking at me with a stern expression, and it contains something like a mixture of disappointment, sympathy and sadness. I look past him to see if Zhu Li is nearby, but for some reason she isn't anywhere to be seen.

"What do you want?" My voice is unusually harsh, and I immediately feel like recoiling at my unintended tone.

Varrick slowly releases my arm warily, almost like he thinks I'm going to run away. "Asami - I'm sorry for what you've had to go through… But please, don't leave." Blue eyes stare at me, piercing my heart as they remind me of someone else's azure gaze.

"What are you talking about?" I shake my head in disbelief, all the previous thoughts and feelings since our arrival flooding through my mind in a torrent. "You don't understand what I'm going through."

This time, unlike in the limo, I can actually hear Varrick sigh. He looks down at his white Gucci loafers somewhat defeatedly.

"I know you're not stupid. You're one of the brightest people I know, someone who'll give me a run for my money any day - and I enjoy our competitiveness and friendship." He takes a deep breath. "What I'm getting at is this… I know that you know about your father and I keeping in touch since your… Incident."

"..."

The man before me waves his hands through the air frantically when I meet his worried gaze with my fiery one. "You have to trust me, Asami! I wasn't planning anything, honestly - your father is just worried about you."

I fold my arms across my chest. "And why should I believe you? You haven't bothered telling me about him until now - why's that?" Instead of my downtrodden state a few minutes ago, I'm now experiencing mild frustration.

"I didn't want you to ditch on the deal we made. I really think you could be good helping my company; I appreciate a mind like yours, and I think the rest of the world does too. As for why you should trust me, I'm only speaking the truth. Your dad cares about you - he just doesn't know how to show his affection, and when he tries I know it's not the way a girl like you would expect or want. Don't get me wrong though. I think he can be a selfish and incompetent man too, but that doesn't mean that we should just give up on him."

Varrick reaches out and places a hand on my bare shoulder, a gentle smile gracing his face. I try to fight back tears I know are dying to wreck havoc on my mascara. I should have listened to Korra about using the waterproof.

"V-Varrick…" I can't hold the tears back anymore, and I throw myself into the older man's arms. He wraps his own around me, rubbing my back while I sob as quietly as I can, although I'm not sure I'm doing a good job.

"It's okay, Asami."

I know Varrick's right. I know all this time I've been trying to keep away from my father, to get as far away from him as I could and pretend like everything was fine when it really wasn't. How could it be? It never was fine to begin with.

Why did I think that? After Varrick's spoken to me, I think I've finally come to terms with those foolish thoughts. I can't keep on running from my dad, and I know deep down my father really is worried about me… From his call when I was in the hospital to him sending private agents to Korra's house to check up on me (although the second one I'd have to say was going a bit overboard…), they're all gestures of the faintest affection.

Varrick's right - he just needs help learning how to show his affection, that's all. And I know my father and I aren't ever going to agree on every single thing, but that doesn't mean that we can't try.

That I can't try.

I sniffle loudly and pull back from Varrick's warm hold, laughing slightly at my sudden emotional breakdown. "S-Sorry…" I say, and Varrick kindly provides a light-blue handkerchief that I use to dab at the corners of my eyes.

"It's fine. I'm sorry too, for not telling you."

"I understand why you were cautious about it though…" I reply. "If I would have known you were keeping in touch with my dad before we made the deal I'm not sure if I would have gone through with it either," I smile sheepishly, and Varrick chuckles, slapping me rather roughly on the back. Hopefully I won't have a bright red handprint there or anything.

"Um…" I look back over our shoulders again, wondering where Zhu Li is. Varrick never goes anywhere without her (at least that's what he says). "Where's Zhu Li, by the way?" It's conspicuously silent here in this area of the building, except for the occasional passerby, who I quickly turn away from, hoping they aren't paparazzi aiming to get a picture of me crying my eyes out. Then again, I'm not even sure how far I managed to get away. I'm surprised Varrick actually caught up to me, considering all those people he invited. It's easy to say there's easily the same amount, or even slightly more people here than there were for my father's party.

"I asked Zhu Li to take care of those pesky reporters while I caught up with you." Varrick grins, tugging me into his side. "I couldn't let you leave, after all the incredible work you've done! Plus," he lowers his voice to a friendly whisper, "I knew it wouldn't be right to keep hiding things from you."

I dab at my eyes again before turning to him, and he winks, making me crack a smile. "Thanks, Varrick."

"No problem, kiddo."

My eyes fall to the floor, and although I want to feel happy, I can't. Not yet.

"You know Asami, since I'm kind of confessing all of my sins to you right now I also think I should tell you why I asked you to come separately from your friends. If I don't it'll make me feel like a really bad person, and Zhu Li told me that it was my fault that you were looking so glum on the ride here."

I blink. "Yeah. I was just going to ask you about that."

"You see," Varrick splays his hand out in front of us, like he's showing me the lay of the land of something, "this, my dear, was all part of my _master plan_. To explain to you the reason why I'm keeping in touch with your dad, and also to help you understand that arriving separately can actually be beneficial for a brilliant, beautiful mind like yourself."

"And the reason for Korra coming with the others separately from me is..?"

Varrick's blue eyes are wide with excitement. "One word, sweet-cheeks. Paparazzi."

"O-kay..?"

"You need to lay everything on the table tonight - you've gotta be brave. You can't beat around the bush. When Korra arrives -" Varrick checks his phone quickly, eyes scanning the screen as he mumbles to himself. "Okay, dang, they're almost here… Geez Zhu Li, you really should give a man a better heads up… Oh! Okay, sorry about that. What was I saying? Oh yeah - you need to tell the press about your relationship with her."

"What?" I pull back in shock away from Varrick, and his arms fall back down to his sides. "I - I do?"

"The world thinks you've got a mysterious significant other who you're secretly dating, a no-name girl." Varrick sides up next to me confidently, again putting his arm around my shoulder as he begins guiding us back to the main hall. "But I've been working with her and Opal, and let me tell you, the names of those two aren't going to be insignificant anymore, nosiree! I'm welcoming them into the world of stardom, and you can do that too by letting the press know who they are - who Korra is, and what she means to you."

Yeah… That's actually a really good idea.

"Varrick, you're a genius."

* * *

 _Earth angel, earth angel_

 _Will you be mine?_

I'm a different person when I walk back out into the professional melee of Varrick's business party. It's not just that I've made up my mind about a few things, of those which I'll elaborate on later, but more due to the fact that I think I've finally managed to understand that I need to be an adult.

And there's just something about that that makes me feel strangely confident - this party, my talk with Varrick, my thoughts on my father, speaking to the press about my relationship… They're all leading up to the same thing.

They all come down to me and having to take a stand on them. I've been floating in the middle for way too long, hoping things would just go the way I hoped they would. But now I think I understand that I'm the one who has to take charge of my own life, I can't sit around idly.

 _Earth angel, earth angel_

 _The one I adore~_

Makeup on point? Check.

Eyebrows on fleek? Check.

Got that hair flow going? Check.

I think my boobs are looking especially perky too, so that's a bonus.

Maybe I forgot to mention that I also feel confident in more than a few areas.

The ambient, haunting melody of one of my favorite oldies echoes around me as I hand out greetings like candy, and I spot Varrick among a special group of people I've been waiting for all evening to arrive. He meets my eyes and winks at me, the gesture lifting my spirits.

And if it's possible for my spirits to get any higher, then I'll have to say they did when I hear Korra laugh at something Bolin says; my heart literally soars at the sound, along with just seeing her there, seeing her _here_. She came for me. They all did.

It's almost as if she can sense me coming close, walking towards them as they stand by the new automobile I've managed to materialize from the depths of my brain. How do I know she can sense me? Because she turns around, and that's the exact moment that my heart stops as her sparkling blue eyes meet my jade green ones.

 _Love you forever and ever more_

 _I'm just a fool_

 _A fool in love with you~_

"Asami." I can't hear Korra's voice against all the clamor among us, but I know she said my name.

Her crooked grin pairs wonderfully with the dark shade of blue composing her skin-tight mini dress, which accentuates her muscular figure. I find myself thrown into her strong arms, burying my face in the brown waves of her soft hair.

She laughs in surprise. "Whoa, haha - you seem to be in a good mood."

"Of course I am," I pull away but keep her at arm's length, relishing the warmth of her body heat and the sexy feel of her dress stretched out across her skin. "Now that you're here, that is."

Bolin, Mako and Opal move up beside Korra, and I give them each separate hugs as well. "I'm so glad you guys could make it." I hesitate for a moment before deciding to tell them about what happened not too long ago. "I was actually going to leave earlier, before you guys came. But now I'm okay."

"Yeah!" Varrick's eyes are wide as he sides up next to me, Zhu Li once again by his side as she hands him a glass of champagne. He takes it, continuing to wave it around with his wild gestures as he tells them about how I was going to make a run for it, and I playfully punch him on the shoulder.

He leans over to me and whispers into my ear conspiratorily, the others giving us a curious glance. "Hey, you gonna talk to the press or what? I can get their attention. Y'know, arouse their interest, get them excited about more than just your absolutely incredible car," he nods off to the side, where a group of company chairmen have gathered in front of the vehicle.

"No," I grab Korra's hand, pulling her closer to me. She seems a bit out of the loop, but I wouldn't blame her. I mean, she has no idea what's going on. "Thanks Varrick, but I want to do this myself."

He gives me a complimentary pat on the back and a nod of approval, and then I turn toward the others, still holding onto Korra. "We'll be back in a bit, okay?"

"We will?" Korra asks, and I giggle.

"Yeah. We'll just be right over there." I point to a stage at the near center of the displays, it's looming, boxy appearance filling me with a riled excitement. I've never really talked to the press before by myself in front to so many people. Before I've done it kind of as an occasional speaker with my father, mostly about how we came up with certain ideas or (this is usually the majority of the time) about what it's like, being the daughter of a billionaire and the heiress to Future Industries. But now this time I'm going to do it willingly, and I'm going to talk about myself. About what who I am, not my father, and who Korra is to me. And that in itself is what's fueling me.

 _I fell for you and I knew_

 _The vision of your loveliness~_

I disregard the strange stares, some admiring and some inquiring. I ignore the whispers and points, gestures meant to have been undetected but make themselves more prominent in the manner as I glide on by with Korra's hand in mine.

 _I hope and pray that someday_

 _That I'll be the vision of your happiness~_

And then there I am, standing at the podium mounted on the medium-sized stage in the large room with Korra next to me. I tap the microphone tentatively before speaking into it, most of the attention of the crowds already captured. I figure with an inner chuckle that maybe the soundcheck wasn't needed; I get the feeling I already had what I was aiming for when I made my way to the front with Korra, grasping her hand tightly and a determined look on my face.

"Hi everyone. I'd like to say that I'm glad you could all come tonight… It's been a great opportunity being able to be working with Varrick and the rest of StoneTech, and although my father and I have been partnered with him for a few years already, this definitely feels like something new."

I receive a few laughs and quickly flick my gaze to the left, where Korra's standing awkwardly. Her hand has gone somewhat limp in mine, and she looks like she's not really sure what's happening. I meet her desperate eyes, in them a desire to know what she's supposed to do. I feel slightly bad springing this on her so suddenly, so I covertly (although I'm not sure you can call it covertly if I'm in front of hundreds of people) lean over to her and whisper into her ear: "It's alright. Don't be afraid - I think we need to tell them."

Korra's eyes widen in surprise and she quickly whispers back. "You mean... about... us?"

I nod, and then the startled, deer-in-the-headlights look from her eyes fades into a soft warmth, a welcoming aqua glow. A rosy sheen dusts her cheeks, and a small grin spreads itself across her face.

Okay. Let's do this. "You've probably all been wondering why I've recently drifted away from associating with my father. Besides the fact that things didn't turn out so well for me at the last party with him, I guess you could say that things have been hard for me and I decided to run away from the problems I had…" I take a deep breath and continue. "But I'm going to face my challenges now, whatever happens to come my way. And I'm going to start by doing that tonight."

I gently squeeze the hand in mine, the smile on my face growing wider as my heart swells with pride. "This is my girlfriend, Korra Liqhtani."

And just like that, what was once the occasional pop of a camera flashing now becomes a pestilential amount, puncturing the already bright lighting. Along with it the clamoring of rivaling voices reaches my ears, tossing various questions into the air that I know would have arised sooner or later.

A bustle of questions hits Korra and I, and when I get the chance I wave my free hand politely, trying to calm the crowd of reporters and guests before us. "We'll do the best we can to answer your questions," I say, my heart pounding with excitement although I try to keep my tone even and my hands from shaking.

In the front a sharply-dressed woman with a camera man behind her (mind you, there's quite a few people like her here) turns her gaze to Korra as she raises her hand. "Are you really dating Asami Sato?"

I move aside so Korra can step in front of the microphone, and she gulps audibly, coughing a couple of times. "Uh, yes?"

"You don't sound confident," the woman replies, to which Korra immediately stands up straighter as she leans into the microphone.

"Okay - I _**am**_ dating Asami Sato." Korra says, this time her voice firm and she crosses her toned arms over her chest.

"You heard the woman," I say, and people laugh.

Korra grins at me, and I grin back. I think she's getting into this.

"How long have you been dating, and why haven't you made your relationship public?" someone else asks.

I decide to take this one. "Well, I was just waiting for the right time… I wanted to be confident about what was happening with us, and feel confident with what was going on in my life, personally. Like I mentioned before." I smile. "We've been dating for a couple of months now."

"Do you normally date girls, Korra?" another person asks, and Korra blushes. "How do you feel about dating _the_ Asami Sato?"

"Uh, no, this is the first time I've dated a girl actually, haha…" Korra rubs the back of her neck. "It's actually the first time for both of us, but it's nice. You have more in common. Like we can swap clothes and sleep in the same bed without people thinking too much about it," Korra laughs. "As for dating her?" she asks, sticking her thumb at me. "I think that I'm really lucky - more than lucky. Never thought I'd be dating Asami Sato a year ago, or a few months ago, for that matter."

"How far have you two gone?" a much too enthusiastic voice calls over the crowd.

The question catches me off guard, and I don't have to look at Korra to know her face is beetred. I fight to keep a blush from creeping up to my cheeks. I take a deep gulp and decide to play it cool. "Far enough, I think." You've got to keep their imaginations running wild, you know.

"Korra! What would you say about Asami Sato that you didn't know about her before?"

Korra seems to have recuperated from the previous question, glad that they hadn't pried anymore on the matter. "She can eat a lot of noodles." She pauses for a few seconds as laughter rips through the crowds, her comment managing to turn my face a light shade of red this time although I'm chuckling too because it's true. Then she turns to me, a mischievous twinkle in her blue eyes. She sends me a wink. "Aside from her being really pretty and cool she's also gifted in a manner of areas physically, if you haven't noticed already. I pretty sure her bra size is-"

Before Korra can say anymore I've clamped my hands over her mouth, face on fire. Okay Korra, that's enough out of you. "Let's leave that for a personal interview or something, shall we?" I say more to her than to the crowd, growling it in a way I think sounded more seductive than menacing (which I didn't really intend it to).

The crowd has another good laugh before sending the two of us an assortment of other questions, me answering many of those that sound like they could lead to possible humiliating situations before Korra can say anything else more embarrassing. There were a few instances where she was flying off the handle again, but after we called up Opal, Bolin (Bolin literally had to drag Mako up on stage) and Mako to introduce themselves, seeing as how they were going to be working more with Varrick more in the future (well, Opal and Bolin at least), I pulled Korra aside and told her if she was good I'd give her a surprise later. She happily obliged, and for the remainder of the interrogating from the paparazzi the five of us got together for some photoshoot pictures. It wasn't anything fancy; the Krew and I took some group photos, then the paparazzi asked for certain combinations; like Korra and Opal (since they did that commercial together, which was shown later on in the night), the two brothers Mako and Bolin, Bolin with a redhead I haven't seen before that Varrick said would most likely be co-starring with him (of whom Opal got visibly jealous of), and then what the paparazzi were probably waiting all night for: pictures of just Korra and I.

I can't lie when I say that I wasn't looking forward to that either, so to be honest, yes I was. I was very much looking forward to it, and I had a hard time keeping my heart at a decent speed whenever they asked for her to wrap her arms around me or vice versa. It just felt so good, having her there with me, and I wasn't the least bit ashamed when during one of posed photos I leaned in and gave her a prompt kiss on her parted lips.

After a few drinks and some toasts (Korra refused to drink anything except water, which I don't blame her for) we wandered around the Convention Center, admiring the number of innovations that had been tested a countless amount of times to finally be considered perfect.

Somehow we find ourselves once again in front of the my car, right where the whole night seemed to have begun for me. Right when I saw Korra laughing along with the others before she turned around and I met her bright blue eyes, knocking all of my worries out of my mind in that exact instant.

Mako reaches out to float his fingers across the lithe, ebony frame of the automobile. The darkness of it is so intense that I imagine on a lonely, closed off street for a demonstrative test drive it would blend into the night itself if there were no city lights on. Like I told Korra before this baby was built; I wanted to create something more of a fusion between retro and modern, and the shape has taken on a mixture between Rolls Royce and a Porsche. In saying that, it has the distinct, classic curves of the former, and a more sleek, pressed down frame of the latter, coming together in a delightfully aesthetic combination that I'm more than proud of.

"I've gotta say Asami - this is literally the sickest car I've ever seen," Mako breathes out excitedly, his amber eyes fixed on the car. "What's it called?"

I smirk at him and place a hand on my hip, raising my champagne glass to my lips yet again. "I've decided to call it the Satosport Midnight." I wave my hand around before anyone can object. "I know, I know, not exactly the most ingenious name… But it's got LEDs that are light green, the tires are a new StoneTech development as well as the relatively light body, and it's equipped with the new engine I built. Just to mention a few other things, it's got heated massagers in all four seats, its own wifi, subwoofers installed into the sides for blasting rap, and a pizza oven in the hood."

"Really?!" Bolin's eyes light up at the last one.

"No, I'm just kidding. It doesn't have a pizza oven in the hood." I begin cracking up after my joke as so do the others, and suddenly I think maybe the champagne is going to my head. Probably shouldn't be drinking any more of that then.

"Aw man, I was so excited about that…" Bolin pouts, and Mako wraps his arm around his brother's shoulders.

"Don't worry Bo. You'd probably forget about the pizza in the hood anyways and it'd get burnt," Mako chuckles, making Bolin's cheeks flush slightly.

"No I wouldn't! Why would I do that? You know how much I love food."

Opal rolls her eyes at the two brothers' bickering and nudges Korra's shoulder. "Hey, how you holding up?" she says, ignoring Mako and Bolin as they cat fight. Opal's actually had some to drink too, but unlike Korra she's able to hold more without really getting drunk, as so are the others.

Korra rubs her eyes sleepily. She stifles a yawn. "I'm doing okay, I guess," she smiles before leaning into me and resting her head on my shoulder.

I slip my hand into her own, appreciating the warmth of her skin against mine. Taking out my phone from my clutch I check the time, and realize that it's almost midnight. I turn to look at Korra again, and thinking it best for all of us, it may be time to head to the hotel that we'll be spending the night at. Varrick was kind enough to pay for our rooms for the weekend, so we'll be staying in the main city of Los Angeles for a couple of days. Well, until the start of next week that is. It's nice actually, because it'll give us (Korra and the others) some time to spend together until we have to get back to the tasks of daily life.

"Wanna head to the hotel?" I ask Korra, excitement disguised as subtle fatigue in my voice. Being Hiroshi Sato's daughter and having to talk to the press sometimes, you're able to control a few things when you need to. Unlike when Korra was trying to embarrass me over there earlier, it was a little harder than I thought attempting to keep a blush off my face.

"Sure, if you want to," my girlfriend replies. I don't skip over the eagerness in her tone.

"Okay, let's go tell Varrick then."

The five of us find Varrick conversing enthusiastically with a group of other entrepreneurs, and we bid him goodbye, letting him know that we'd be heading back to the hotel to turn in for the night. With a last, bone-crushing hug from the man to each of us, we leave in a limo - this time together - and arrive at the five-star hotel less than fifteen minutes away from the Convention Center.

Korra, Opal and I straggle to our room, taking a moment to say goodnight to Bolin and Mako who's room is right across the hall. I shut the door and lock it behind us, skillfully dodging the high heels being flicked my way before escaping the evil clutches of my own.

When I look up from the floor again Opal's catapulted herself onto the couch and turned on the tv, and she gets up from the couch to make her way to the bed where Korra is lying down. Not surprisingly there's a quite large gift basket sitting between two pillows, and the two immediately start digging through it.

I chuckle and shake my head as I begin walking over to the bed to join them in their rummaging, but by the time I get there Opal's already gathered a heap ton of various sweets and plops herself back down into the couch in front of the bed.

Korra simply smiles at me sheepishly, popping a few chocolates into her mouth. She's now sitting up on the bed, her muscular, tanned legs tucked neatly beneath her.

I take a seat in front of her, the idea I had earlier in my mind coming back into focus. "Hey Korra." I sift through the basket before stopping when Korra holds out a box of chocolates, and my fingers reflexively snatch up a truffle.

"Mhm?" she replies through a mouthful of chocolate, eyes on the tv.

"Will you teach me how to-"

"Dougie?" Opal's head pops up over the front of the couch, a wide, silly grin on her face.

I frown and toss a bag of caramel corn at her head, which she laughs at before turning back to the screen.

"No, I wanted to ask her if she'd teach me how to meditate," I huff, my voice loud as I roll my eyes at Opal. "I already know how to dougie; plus, that's not important right now anyways." My smile returns as I turn my gaze back to Korra. "I want to make sure you sleep well tonight, without me having to be waking you up with my sleeptalking and all that," I say, but then I think maybe I should also tell her a little more. More about what I've been thinking. "Also… I kind of think it'd help me if I knew how to meditate and control my emotions… I - I'm going to visit my dad this weekend."

Korra's blue eyes shoot my way, and she drops the box of chocolates she had been previously digging into on the mattress. "You serious about that?"

I nod with a straight face, deadly serious. "I am."

Korra takes a deep breath before running a hand through her hair, the dim lighting of the lamp in the room bouncing off her brown locks as it turns them a deep copper. "Okay. I'll teach you."

The tight line of my lips stretch into an appreciative smile. "Great! Where do we start?"

"After we shower and change into our pajamas it might be easier. I mean, I usually meditate in a cross-legged position, and I can't really do that with a dress without… Y'know…" Korra's cheeks begin turning red, and it's only when I realize that she's trying to say that it's easier to see her underwear if she was cross-legged in a dress that I leap off of the bed, my own face beginning to heat up.

"G-Gotcha!" I begin going through my suitcase on the floor besides Korra's and Opal's bags, them being delivered to our room earlier while we were at the party. "I'll do that right now."

It was probably one of the quickest showers and pajama changes I've done before (a crop top and pair of booty shorts this time to sleep), but I definitely had competition with Korra's shower and change time as well. Opal, on the other hand, was another story.

Probably around ten minutes later Korra and I are sitting down on the bed with our legs crossed, the knuckles of our hands pressed together and lifted above our thighs.

"Okay. First thing you do is close your eyes. Try calming your breathing, and concentrate on that. Block out any noise and just focus on the inhaling and exhaling. Clear your mind of everything."

I do what I'm told, but peek my eye open after a few seconds to see how Korra's holding up with the tv blasting while Opal watches NFL.

"Opal, will you turn that thing off?" With my one eye open I see Korra's eyebrow twitch in annoyance, and then hear Opal huff as she mutes it and switches to subtitles.

Korra smiles, looking much more happy after that. "Thanks."

Opal waves her hand. "Whatever you say your Highness."

"Remember. Clear your mind and just focus on your breathing. Let go of all those worries and problems that've been bothering you -"

Sneakily I open both eyes. Smirking I slowly lean into Korra and press a kiss to her lips, and she literally jumps from her position on the bed, falling back down onto the floor with a loud thump.

"W-What the heck, Asami?!" Korra sits herself back up, an embarrassed look on her face as Opal and I laugh. I'm sure she wishes the tv was still on now, blocking out our laughter. "You're just as bad as Opal!"

I crawl over to the other side of the bed where Korra is on my hands and knees, looking down at the girl kneeling on the floor. Grinning from ear to ear I help her back up. "Sorry, I just couldn't help it - I've been wanting to do that for a while."

"...Meanie."

"Buuuut," I wink at Korra, and she raises an eyebrow curiously. "That was also the surprise I mentioned earlier, so there you go." I nestle back into the soft comforter laid across the bed as I get back into my cross-legged position. "Let's get back to meditating, shall we?"

Korra stares at me in disbelief. "Well, I believe you about the reward part… But how do you expect me to think you won't pull something like that again? I thought you were serious about meditating."

"I am." My tone is undoubtedly devious, and I flick my damp hair back over my shoulder. "But then again I guess I can't guarantee you if I'll do that again or not."

"Geez…" Korra sighs, making me giggle. "I feel like I'm going to regret doing this."

"You know you love it!" Opal shouts from over at her spot on the couch, and I open a tightly shut eye just in time to see Korra blush again.

Yep. I think she kind of likes it, whether she admits it or not.

* * *

 **since i'm done with school for a few months, i'll do the best i can to update more often. i mean, of course when i'm not at the beach or at the fair or anything... sorry. just really excited. ;P**

 **reviews are always appreciated!**


	28. Chapter 28

**korra pov.**

* * *

 **I've Got a Bad Feeling About This...**

"Do you want us to come with you?" I ask ever-so-carefully, trying not to sound too eager or pushy. I want her to answer truthfully and not out of pity or feeling like she had to let us come with, since this is personal. Opal, Bolin and Mako stand beside me on the front steps of the Sato mansion, Asami nervously fidgeting with her clothes. I know the concerned stares on the faces of my friends say more about how we're feeling than words can at the moment.

Asami takes a deep breath before exhaling. "No, I think I'll be fine." Her smile is fragile, and I want to reach out and caress her cheek, tell her it's going to be okay.

"You got this." Bolin playfully gives Asami a little punch on the shoulder and a cheeky yet nervous grin, and she chuckles some.

"Yeah, tell him what you were rehearsing to us in the car," Opal says. "It was so touching you moved me to tears."

"I second that," Mako raises his hand before pocketing it, a nonchalant shrug giving away the sarcasm of his joke. That straight-faced jick wouldn't cry if he found out you plucked his eyebrows in his sleep (believe me, Bolin and I tried that once. It didn't turn out so well. Hey… Now that I think about it, maybe that's part of the reason why his eyebrows are kinda strange).

"I'll remember that," Asami smiles weakly again, absentmindedly reaching for the doorknob. "I'll see you guys in a bit, alright?"

I fix my eyes on her's. "Remember what we talked about last night, okay?" For some reason my voice sounds wistful, not wanting Asami to have to go through this by herself.

But then Bolin reaches out as Asami's halfway through the door to place a hand on her shoulder. She turns around to face him with an eyebrow raised. "We'll be right out here if you need us."

"Thanks," my girlfriend whispers before shutting the door behind her, leaving the four of us in reclusive silence. After standing there for a second I feel a light bulb go off over the top of my head, and I quickly leap over the steps, landing on the paved walkway at the bottom. I'm about to begin jogging to my left when I stop, hearing Mako call out to me.

"Korra, where are you going?"

"Don't you want to know how it's going to go?" My chest heaves with excitement. "Come on; if we go over this way we can probably hear what's happening." I wave a hand at my friends who're standing around. "Let's go - move your molasses."

I'm not sure how long we've been jogging until we stop under a large window, and by now I have no idea where Asami's room is. Bad idea to even think we could find it from the outside.

"I thought it'd be somewhere around here…" I scratch my chin thoughtfully.

"Got another brilliant idea, genius?" Opal's remark makes me frown, and I shoot a glare her way.

I look up at the window as a devious smirk crosses my lips.

"Oh no you're not." Bolin begins backing away, hands put out protectively in front of him. "We're so not going to build a human pyramid to reach that window, because obviously that's what you're thinking of doing."

"Oh come on." Somehow I manage to drag Mako and Opal over without getting kicked in the gut, while Bolin stares on in horror. "It'll be fun."

"You say that for everything, and it doesn't even matter if it's a life or death experience!" Opal mutters as I square her front against the side of the mansion and motion over to Bolin, who sighs defeatedly before slumping over.

Soon enough the bros are on the bottom, Opal standing on the two of their shoulders with surprising balance, and I grin to myself before attempting to climb my makeshift ladder.

No sooner than I miraculously manage to clamber on top of Opal's shoulders and prop myself up on the window sill with my arms that I see a figure rush toward me through the glass, and although I think I'm busted and I'll probably face a few years in jail I still hold on for dear life. Because of course if I fell I'd probably die (just kidding, it's not that easy to get rid of me).

The window opens, as so does my mouth, though no smart excuse as to why I'm peeking through the window comes out like I wish it would.

And there's Asami, standing in front of me with one of the widest smiles I've ever seen on her gorgeous face.

"A-Asami, I can explain -"

I'm a bit confused as to why Asami's smiling while at the same time there's the beginning of little droplet-like tears at the corners of her eyes. She sniffles once before lunging at me and wrapping her thin arms around my neck, the human tower beneath me becoming unsteady as it wobbles to and fro.

"Korra…" She whispers into my ear, running her hands through my hair and making me breathless as I inhale the scent of flowers and vanilla. I remain silent, just allowing her to hold me (and for me to hold onto the window sill for dear life). "He said he's sorry."

I wish I could see Asami's face right now, to know if she's happy or not.

Asami exhales deeply, quietly, and against the grunts and muttered squabbling of the three below me, I also manage to hear her say: "I said I was sorry too."

* * *

We decided to head back to the hotel for some lunch, and I was stoked to know that there's actually this really fancy restaurant on the roof. The ROOF. Can you believe it? God, I was literally squealing with excitement (along with Bolin and Opal) when Asami told us that. Of course she'd be used to this; and Mako's always pretty unfazed about everything in general, so don't even get me started on that guy.

I dust off the last of my angus burger and belch. "Damn, that was some good food."

Opal swats at me as Asami giggles. "Ew Korra, don't burp in front of us you nasty." She scrunches her nose up real tight and sticks a salad-topped fork into her mouth.

"No one really cares, Ope," I sigh.

"I do. I bet your food fumes are traveling through the air right now as we speak, probably contaminating what clean air our poor little planet has left."

"Oh shut up." This time I give her shoulder a shove, and the fork misses her mouth, instead stabbing Bolin.

"Ouchie!" Bolin yelps, causing everyone else to erupt into laughter.

I honestly don't care if we're making a scene right now; it just feels so great being able to hang out together with everyone like this, and we're all feeling pretty good since Asami's made up with her dad. So heck, of course we're all feeling like total bosses (or maybe that's just my opinion/viewpoint).

I relax onto the granite countertop, letting the sun bounce off of my already bronze skin. The cool rock feels good pressed up against my cheek, and I grin at no one in particular - just feeling good, like I said before. I'll probably just do a bit of chilling until everyone else is done with their food, and then we can figure out what we want to do next.

"Oh my god - I heard we were staying in the same hotel, but I didn't actually think I would get to meet you guys!"

My eyes widen as watch a thin, tanned guy with brown hair skip over to us, a weird man with a long tail of braided hair following beside him.

The little guy stops in front of the granite countertop where we're eating, appearing to be quite restless from his blinding grin studded with pearly whites. He's dressed pretty nice too; wearing a dark green polo, dark brown cardigan and a pair of khakis with his hair slicked back.

For some reason this guy has gotten on my nerves, and he hasn't even said anything specifically to me yet.

Spoiler alert, maybe?

"Asami Sato, daughter of Future Industries CEO Hiroshi Sato, her girlfriend Korra Lihqtani, along with Opal Beifong, soon-to-be-star Bolin Kwan, and his brother Mako Kwan -" the guys takes a deep inhale before continuing. "Pleased to meet you all! Let's be best friends, okay?"

It creeps me out slightly that his bright green eyes seem to linger a moment longer on Mako as my friend slurps up a forkful of spaghetti.

"And you are..?" I fix the little guy with the sternest look I can muster, but he only smiles before waggling his fingers at me in a flirtatious manner.

"Oh darling, I'm surprised you don't know me." The guy leans in close to me, resting his chin on his hand and I scoot back considerably, giving Asami a confused look. She seems to be having the same problem as me. "The name's Wu, Prince Wu, as a matter of fact." He rubs his fingernails against his cardigan, then examines them before wiggling his eyebrows at me.

I feel like puking.

"Okay…" God, what else can I say to a guy who I think is trying to flirt with me?

"Ooh ooh!" Suddenly Bolin's jumping up and down on his stool with his hand raised, and Wu zips over to him. "Are you a real prince? Like, the son of a king and queen?"

"Of course I am," Wu answers somewhat more proudly than what I expected was possible. "Well, not exactly a prince prince - but my family comes from a long line of actual royalty, so if we were still to have a monarchy today I'd probably be your handsome ruler… My parents are diplomats in the modern world, so you can expect me to follow in their footsteps." Wu slinks over to Opal and gives her a wink, which she scoffs silently at. Or maybe make that wrinkles her nose up at like she did to me earlier. "'Prince' is just a little title I like to employ; it makes me sound more important."

"I think I've heard of you before," Asami says, clearly showing more interest in the guy than any of the five of us have since he magically appeared. "Your parents have come to some of our parties a few times, when they weren't away on international business."

"At least someone's heard of me." Wu, who was once in front of Opal, is now standing in front of Asami and I across the counter, and - hey - when did he grab her hand? "You're quite a sight for sore eyes, you know that?"

I snatch Asami's hand out of this wacko's grasp, although I feel a lot more like slapping that stupid grin off his face. I remain docile for Asami's sake. "Hey hey hey." I think I'm actually growling. "What's up with you trying to hit on us?" Bolin and Mako gag, and I correct myself. "Or Asami, at least?"

Wu looks offended. "I was just trying to be friendly," he shrugs carelessly. "I announced that I wanted to be best friends with you guys when I walked over here with my bodyguard Dai Li, didn't I?"

Opal crosses her arms. "That doesn't mean we're your friends now though, just because you say we are." I feel like hugging Opal, or at least bowing down to her in reverence.

Mako sets down his fork with a clank, and we all turn his way down at the end of the counter. "Guys, guys, stop being so hard on the guy, will you? He just said he wants some friends, is all," Mako says, and Wu's frown flips back right side up.

"Mako's right," Asami steps in, Bolin, Opal and I switching from staring at Mako to staring at Asami. "Wu's not looking to cause any trouble, aren't you, Wu?"

"Wouldn't dream of it." Wu snaps his fingers at the tall guy with the weird braid behind him. "Dai Li, bring me a stool, will you?"

In a matter of seconds he's sitting down directly in front of Opal (since she's basically sitting in the exact center of the five of us), and the dude is going on a full-out explosion of amazement telling Asami how awesome he thought the party last night was (apparently he was there - thank god we didn't talk to him then).

I yawn and rest my chin back on the folded meeting of my hands, which are flat against the counter. After what seems like an eternity of Wu talking while the others finish up, I know I'm honestly getting tired of the guy's blabbering.

"And that vehicle - what's it called? The Satosport Midnight! Yeah, that was incredible!" Wu exclaims, and Asami giggles some. "I haven't seen a sexier car in my life." The sight of Wu tapping his chin is almost as bad as it is when Opal pretends to stroke her imaginary beard.

It instills fear in me, because obviously they're not thinking of anything good. I have previous experience to thank for my knowledge. "Hey, I have an idea. Why don't we take the Midnight out for a spin tonight? What do you think, Asami? It'd be fun, right? And we'd all get to do some harmless, friendly bonding, because obviously I can already tell we're all going to be friends for life."

Hopefully mine is a relatively short life if I'm friends with you, pal.

Asami gives her jet-black hair a flip back over her shoulder, and bites her bottom lip in consideration. "Actually that does sound like a pretty fun idea. I haven't driven the Midnight since I was testing it around the track at StoneTech."

"Great! What do you say? How about we meet at ten o'clock, out in the rear parking lot?" Wu sounds excited, and I wonder if this guy's had any friends before. Or any people who'd want to hang out with him, in general.

"We'll see you then, Wu." Asami smiles back politely, and Wu flashes yet another grin at us before prancing away.

"Asami…" Opal leans in front of me, looking pretty exhausted. "Why did you say that we'd hang out with him?" My friend practically moans as she drags a hand over her face; I could tell she was barely keeping herself under control the whole time Wu sat in front of her. And then she was over there making fun of my 'food fumes' earlier; I think Wu's overpriced cologne was way worse. I'm sure inhaling that stuff killed some of my brains cells, and of course I don't have that many so I need to make sure to take care of the few I have.

"Oh come now, Opal," Asami grins as she takes a sip of her water, and she fidgets a bit with the lemon halved by the glass's rim. "It wouldn't hurt to spend a little time hanging out with the kid. He doesn't seem like he's got many friends, if any - although I didn't want to ask him that. We're only here for the weekend too, so we probably won't ever see him again."

"So we're not going to be friends for life?" Bolin, for god knows what reason, sounds kind of let down. "I thought Prince Wu was a decent guy. He smelled nice too."

Mako pats Bo on the shoulder. "Hey now, don't think like that. I'm sure it won't be the last time we see him."

Mako, I hope you're wrong.

* * *

My crossed arms and grumpy pout either go unnoticed or ignored by Asami as the Krew and us two walk around the corner behind the hotel, to our destination - the valet parking lot. Breath condenses before my very eyes in warm clouds, and I rub my forearms with my hands up and down, trying to get the blood flowing and heat up some. Shoulda known I needed an extra sweater.

Opal and Bolin dance along in the chilly night while they touch each other's cheeks excitedly, squealing at the freezing temperature of their hands. I roll my eyes and scoot a little closer to Asami. Mako decides to space himself from his brother and Opal and stops beside me, pulling up his red scarf to cover the bottom half of his face.

"Wu isn't here yet?" Mako's fiery eyes scan the parking lot, as so do mine and Asami's, but it doesn't look like Wu is here.

I grab Asami's arm and begin turning around. "Yaaay now we can go back to our rooms -"

"Sorry I'm late guys, I had to sneak away from my bodyguard so I could come hang out with you without having him around!"

Mother trucker. This jick just had to show up. My jaw clenches as I lose my grip on Asami's arm, and her and the others turn to greet the maniac wildly waving his arms at us as he runs over.

"You made it," Asami allows a small grin to penetrate her features as she flips back her hair. "Didn't think you were gonna show."

"Good thing you didn't chicken out," Mako adds, a quick chuckle following.

Wu jabs at Mako and places his hands on his itty-bitty waist. "Of course I'm not gonna miss a ride in Asami's car! I mean, I've been waiting to hang out with you guys since, like, yesterday!" The back of his hand flies to his forehead. "Wait, actually it's been 84 years…"

"Oh stop it." Bolin playfully punches Wu on the shoulder, and the two share a laugh while I feel like strangling that toothpick's scrawny neck, seeing him having fun with Bo.

God this is really bad for me. "Can't we just go take your car for a ride already?" I grumble, although Asami takes it completely in stride.

"Yeah, of course, I had Varrick bring it over here earlier this afternoon, so it should be parked in the VIP area," she says, and immediately begins sashaying away toward said place.

A valet person/guard (I don't really know, to be honest) stands beside the Satosport before Asami politely shoos him away, and then she rubs her hands together, slips on a pair of fingerless leather gloves, and whips out the car's keys.

A sound like a bird chirping echoes through the night briefly as a lime-green glow emanates from the bottom of the Midnight's jet-black frame. Then Asami twirls around (it's easy to tell she's super hyped), giving her lips a swift lick with the tip of her seductive tongue. "You guys ready?"

"Am I ever!" Bolin, Mako and Wu pretty much exclaim at the exact same time before exchanging embarrassed looks, and Opal and I just roll our eyes.

I decide to redeem myself for actually coming out here tonight (hey, I couldn't leave Asami alone with this wacko). "I call shotgun!" I practically shout, and Wu moans in disappointment as we begin piling in and I get into the front passenger seat.

There's a few minutes of making sure we can fit four people in the back seat, and I don't know how we did it, but somehow we manage - there's Opal on the far right behind me, Bolin next to her, then Mako, and then Wu on the far left. I'm pretty sure Opal sat there to stay as far away from the kid as possible (don't worry Ope, I would have done the exact same thing). Besides the four looking mighty squished, Wu and the boys give us matching thumb ups.

"Let's get the heck outta here before Dai Li finds me trying to have some fun for once," Wu says as he taps the back of Asami's chair. "You have no idea how hard it was to lose him."

"Gotcha."

Asami turns the keys in the ignition, and the Midnight roars to life; I can feel the steady vibration of the engine resounding, and paired with the glowing LEDs it reminds me of something like a night club. Haha now don't get me wrong, I've never been to one… It's just the vibe, I guess?

And then Asami puts on the rap music, and we all begin bouncing back and forth in our seats as the subwoofers toss us.

We peel out of the parking lot at remarkable speed, and I don't exactly feel safe anymore… I know Asami's a good driver, but heck, this is beginning to remind me of Opal's reckless driving.

I seize the leather interior with what max strength I have, and against the g-force straining my face I tilt my head to see Asami grinning wide. I know panic's trying to grip my little heart, but for a second I feel the sensation she's enjoying. With that wide, dare-devil grin, her hair flowing back with the window down, and her long, elegant arms stretched to float her hands over the steering wheel, all I see in Asami's face in that second with what sanity I have left is freedom.

And then it's back to me thinking my life is about to end.

And with Wu screaming in the back while Mako and Bolin hoot and holler as the bass kicks, maybe I should begin saying my prayers.

Okay, dear god, please don't hate me for all the things I've done in my li-

"I don't think this is a good idea anymore," Opal shouts over the screeching of the three maniacs in the back, and I totally agree.

Asami just laughs, and shifts into another gear. "Opal, you're not scared of having a little fun, are you?" She sounds incredibly confident.

Through the mirror I can see Opal nod her head like her life depended on it, and now I think it might. "I am!"

"Me too!" I raise my hand as well, but this only makes Asami laugh harder, and I gulp. Better just jump out the window now and save myself from a nasty collision.

"Haha, you guys - there's nothing to be worried about, I'm literally one of the best drivers in the world, not to boast or anything… But I've learned to drive at the age of 12, so I guess you could say I'm pretty experienced for someone my age."

"Wow, really? That's awesome!" Wu yells over the sound of the roaring wind partnered with the booming subwoofers. "Hey, go on the freeway, Asami! I'm sure it's not that busy - let's try driving out of town!"

Asami doesn't reply, but as I look out the window I see the mundane yellow and white of lonely passing cars seem to slow, and then I realize we're the ones speeding up. She makes a turn to get on the freeway, and then there we are, racing against no one and speedily passing by the occasional night owl driving on the lonely highway. Lucky for Wu tonight the freeway isn't busy. Actually, lucky for everyone the freeway isn't busy - I'm sure people'd be freaking out if they saw us easily going twenty miles per hour faster than what's allowed.

Or maybe make that twenty-five, Asami's kinda kicked it up a notch.

Without me realizing sooner I look up and see that the sunroof has moved away, and my eyes bug as Wu removes his seatbelt and literally shoots through the hole.

Aaaaand I'll leave out what slipped out of my mouth at that exact moment…

"Holy crap!" I twist in my seat, Wu's brown jean-clad legs dangling above Mako's and Bolin's laps while the two brothers cheer the absolutely crazy guy on.

Okay - they're not gonna help, and Opal looks like she's gonna puke, so no help there either.

"Asami! Wu's crazy - he's on the roof! We've gotta do something!"

Asami's ebony hair whips against her face, occasionally hiding her smile, which I'm astonished to say is still there. "Take it easy, Korra - he's just having some fun." She winks at me, and then she leans out her window, allowing the brisk wind to send her hair flying behind in a black trail as it blends with the night.

Asami hollers a long cheer, pumping her fist, and god I wish I could do the same but there's a lunatic sticking his top half out of the car, and my two childhood friends are lifting him higher through the roof, and my sometimes annoying (but right now I definitely feel bad for her) friend from school who's trying to hold in her dinner in the same car as me and I can't really process it all.

Maybe I should just take matters into my own hands.

With much regret I undo my seatbelt and latch onto Wu's legs, which basically are the equivalent of two twigs.

"What are you doing?" Bolin asks curiously, and I can obviously tell him and Mako are still trying to push Wu up farther through the roof.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" It's the only thing to say that makes sense. "Wu can get hurt! And even worse, what if a police officer catches us? We're already going faster than the speed limit, by, like, a hundred miles an hour!"

"Chillax, Korra." Mako shouts over the blasting music and Wu's hooting. "We're just having fun, and Wu's not gonna get hurt anyways."

They continue heaving Wu up farther.

"Opal! You need to help me out here!" I turn to Opal, but then she covers her mouth before shaking her head and bends down over the open window at her side. A sickening groan escapes her to reach my ears, as does a splashing sound not soon after, and I take back whatever I was about to ask her.

I go back to tugging at Wu. "Get that idiot in here!"

"Whoa whoa, Korra - he's fine!" Bolin shouts over the ruckus, and I grit my teeth in frustration.

"Gun it, Asami!" Mako yells, and I try to push myself back up to the front to stop Asami from doing what Mako said but then I lurch forward into the foot space of my friends due to the heavy pressing on the gas pedal.

Mako curses and Bolin shrieks, and once I've managed to push myself up I see the sudden gunning had forced Wu backward, and now only his mid-calves down are visible from the inside of the car.

"Asami, Asami, slow down!" I try, falling back into my own seat because heck, I've already tried saving Wu's life in what way I knew how but everything just seems to have gotten ten times worse.

Asami's green eyes dart to the mirror and she immediately sees what happened, and eases on the gas considerably as Mako and Bolin pull Wu back in quickly.

I close the sunroof and the windows, even locking them (cause I don't know if these guys are ever gonna learn), and sigh deeply as I turn down the radio.

It's quiet now in the Midnight except for the sound of Wu chuckling and Opal heaving every now and then, and I open her window out of the kindness of my heart so that she doesn't end up ruining Asami's car.

"YES!" Wu sticks his pointers in the air, and in the mirror I can see him splayed out across Mako's and Bolin's laps. "That. Was. AWESOME."

"You almost got yourself killed," I retaliate. "You were lucky I told Asami to slow down or you would have shot clean out onto the freeway to become roadkill." I laugh, thinking about Wu becoming roadkill. "Maybe I should have let that happen."

"Korra, geez, we were just having some fun with Wu," Mako sighs like he's irritated, and Wu reaches up to pat Mako on the cheek. If anything, that gesture irritates me.

Anything Wu does in general irritates me.

"Sorry Korra."

I see Asami looking straight ahead into the empty highway, emerald and focused and also tainted with apology.

"I think you're right. Things did get out of hand, more so than I expected. I just, I don't know… I just felt free, and I think they did too."

My gaze drops to my hands, folded tightly in my lap. Yeah, I know. I could see that. "I know… I'm sorry too. I was scared."

Opal kicks the back of my chair weakly.

"Oh yeah, and so was Ope. Actually, she was more queasy than anything, since she tossed her cookies."

The six of us laugh. And for the first time, it's something we all agree on together, although I never thought I'd share a similar opinion on something with Wu (believe it or not).

"Are you always like this?" Bolin asks Wu as he wipes a tear from his eye. Opal just sits silently beside Bo with a twisted frown/smirk, maybe finally really getting the idea we were all laughing at her weak stomach. Oh well.

"Believe it or not," Wu straightens up in his seat, "I was actually a really big pussy until recently." He thinks for a bit while we remain quiet. "Well, if I'm truthful I guess you can say I'm still a big pussy but there's time when I feel like doing something crazy, like just now. I'm used to people being overprotective of me, or just being really controlling."

"That's a bummer." Mako fixes his scarf.

"Yeah, I know right? I had a girlfriend who was like that, and we kind of broke up recently but I'm totally fine with it because when I was with her I felt like she was literally monitoring me 24/7." Wu shakes his little head in disgust before sighing dreamily. "Oh, but was she a looker… A little intimidating maybe, but heck, I guess I could be a submissive guy."

"O-kay…" I say awkwardly. I think this conversation just took a turn down Bizzare Lane (and yes, I just made that up I know it's cheesy).

We're silent for a while.

"...Uh, why was she intimidating?" I turn around in my chair to look at Wu.

"She was a military sergeant who after a few years in the army took to police work," is Wu's quick reply.

"Mako's a police officer too!" Bolin shakes Mako's shoulder, and Mako waves his brother off.

I notice Mako's eyes are wandering, and he turns around in his seat to look out the back of the Midnight's rear window, then rapidly sits back down in his seat.

"Wow Mako, I didn't know you worked for the police!"

"Um, yeah, I do but -"

"That's so cool! You should take me for a ride in your police car and we could catch bad guys together."

Through the now softly playing rap I can hear something resembling a siren, and gazing into the front mirror I can see flashing red and blue.

Crap.

I think I know why Mako looks so tense.

"My ex-girlfriend never took me for rides in her police car… I would always ask her, but she always gave me this really mean look and it literally made me feel like peeing my pants so -"

Mako leans forward in his seat again, placing a hand on Asami's chair. "Um, guys, I think we've got trouble."

I hear Opal lurch again, obviously holding in the remainder of her dinner, as the rest of us utter a few curses.

A police car pulls up beside us, siren blaring and lights flashing, while a female police officer demands for us to pull over.

She's literally right beside me, and I wave at the woman sheepishly because I'm kind of stupid and I don't know what else to do.

I lower the window. "Uh, hi…"

"You there in the black sports car, pull over immediately. This is the police." Her voice sends chills relaying up and down my spine, and I think I'm so close to her she could probably reach right over and strangle me or take me hostage for leverage (if she felt like it).

"Well, speak of the devil." Wu kind of laughs nervously, and then seizes onto Mako with both his arms and legs while my friend looks totally confused.

"What is it?" Asami begins to slow down.

"That's my ex-girlfriend."

"Oh."

* * *

 **sorry i haven't updated, been working a lot and having fun hehe. ;P**

 **anyhoo, i guess korra doesn't like wu very much? oh, and if you guys are curious about as to how asami's talk with her dad went (like you want the specifics), leave a review saying you'd like to see how that went along. if not that's okay too, but hearing back from you always gives me an incentive to get working on chapters and have them out sooner! it's all for your enjoyment. :D**

 **thanks for all your support, and to all the favs/follows/reviewers!**

 **ps. wanna guess who wu's ex is? *rubs her hands evilly together***


	29. Chapter 29

**yo yo yo. korra pov for the baes.**

* * *

 **Who Am I?**

The subtle woosh of cars passing by, along with our labored breathing, echoes through the car for what feels like an eternity. But hey, at least if I go to jail, I'll go to jail with these homies.

Even so, I'm literally scared out of my wits as I hear the loud shuffling of heavy boots outside the car, and I scrunch my eyes closed, gripping the knees of my torn jeans with white-knuckled hands.

There's a not-so-delicate knock on Asami's window.

Without any verbal command Asami complies and slowly lowers the window, and the cool night air rushes in, slightly relieving my lungs.

"Officer Manbei." I peek open my eyes and see the woman whip out a badge, shoving it in Asami's face. "You were going well past the speed limit, you know. I'm sure you were aware of your reckless driving." The police officer lady seems hesitant after Asami gulps, and then I hear the woman snort.

"You're Asami Sato, aren't you?"

Everyone in the car is silent. Asami nervously bites her bottom lip.

"Ha. Figures you would think you're a hotshot. Too good to play by the rules, right? Of course I'm right."

My heart doesn't waste time jumping into my throat as Officer Manbei opens Asami's door, then taking my girlfriend's arm in her gloved hands and dragging her out.

"Let's have a talk, shall we?"

I'm frozen until Asami's no longer next to me, but force myself to bolt out of the car. I find myself in between Manbei and Asami in less than three seconds flat.

"H-Hey, what are you doing?" My voice was faulty in cracking, but I can't keep my fear at bay.

Manbei scoffs. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm going to give her a ticket after I have a little chat with her."

She tries pulling at Asami's arm again, but I pry her hands off of the Future Industries heiress. "You don't have to be so rough!" God, I don't know where all this attitude is coming from, but if I see Asami getting pushed around by anybody, then no more Mr. Nice Girl (sorry if that didn't make any sense).

Manbei huffs and then her green eyes fall to the passenger area of Asami's car. She seems to be contemplating my plea of politeness, but I can't say for sure. She points to the back of the car. "There's more people in there, aren't there?"

Asami steps forward this time. "Officer, it's not their fault. This is entirely on me, so don't try picking on any of the-"

It's too late, because Wu's already opened his door and tries sprinting off at the speed of a middleschooler before Manbei takes a few strides and tackles him to the ground like a football player on steroids breaking through the defensive lines.

An uncharacteristic squeal from Wu makes me want to giggle, but I confine my laughter as Manbei lugs him up and tosses him onto the hood of the car.

"Whoa, easy there! That's no way to treat someone!"

Oh look, now we've got Mako - thank god, I was panicking here for a second. This woman's like the female, human manifestation of the Incredible Hulk. My friend sides up next to Asami and I, and I steal a quick glance through the open door where Wu attempted to escape from. Inside Bo and Ope are timidly clutching each other, probably having wet their pants after seeing this boss lady toss Wu like if he was last week's trash. I nod my head at them to get out here and help us out.

"And who do you think you are, telling me what to do?" Manbei jabs a finger at Mako's chest, and his scarf sags down.

Mako reaches into his back pocket and flips open his wallet, brandishing a badge I never knew he had in front of Manbei's shocked face (or I would at least like to say she looked shocked, even if it was for a millisecond). "Officer Mako Kwan, that's who. And I'm telling you as a fellow officer you need to tone down on your roughness level."

"Oooooh!" Bolin retaliates from behind his brother. "Burn!"

Manbei shoots daggers with her eyes his way. "Shut up."

"Yes ma'am," Bo salutes.

There's a weak laugh from the hood of the car as Wu pushes himself up on his limp, scrawny arms. "Kuv, don't you remember me?"

Manbei does a double take, and all of a sudden her voice seems significantly softer, gentler. "...Wu? I - I didn't know that was you -"

"It's okay." Wu dusts himself off as he slides down from off the hood, stopping beside Asami. "You were always tossing me around, I'm used to it by now." He shakes his head. "You played with me a lot too, just like you did with my feelings…" Wu sighs, and 'Kuv'? remains silent for a brief moment.

And as quickly as that crystal-hard shell was cracked by a whimpering Wu, the shield is up again. "Whatever. We're done now, and I'm working on the job so don't try and bring what's long gone back." Manbei takes out her citation booklet to assign a ticket, and I stand there stupidly not knowing what to do. We just got pulled over, and there's like five million of us, and it's not like I can negotiate with this woman because obviously she doesn't even have time for a sincere heart-to-heart with her ex.

Again I'm about to open my big mouth when Wu spews out a barrage of - god, I don't even know what they are - nicknames? Because if they are, they're kinda funny (although I'll never say that to this woman, cause if I did she'd probably slap me silly).

"Gumdrop? Kuvy? Ku-Ku? Don't ignore me, sweetness. You know you don't have to do this! Bei-Bei, c'mon girl… Great Uniter! How about that? That was your favorite nickname, wasn't it? Oh come on, you know you like it Kuvira-"

The six of us watch as Kuvira (I'm guessing is her real name is) as her face gets increasingly redder, and her eyebrow has been twitching for a while now until she cuts Wu off with a wave of her hand that looked like she could have chopped someone's head clean off if they were in the way. If it wasn't for Kuvira being here, I'd probably start rolling on the floor laughing.

"Wu!" Daggers shoot the little guy's way, and he instantly clams up. "I told you not to use those names with me anymore."

"Oh, so you're the Kuvira my mom's mentioned a few times." Opal nods to herself and Kuvira's head snaps in my friends direction. "I think she's talked about you a few times, about how you're like her new protege and stuff."

I turn to Opal. "Que?"

I'm guessing Kuvira's too befuddled to say anything because Opal smoothly tells us how her mom also works for the police department, except for a different location than her aunt (the grumpy gray-haired lady who Asami and I met that one time), and all of us murmur a simultaneous _'Oh!'_ at pretty much the same time. I think maybe Kuvira's in a slightly better mood than she was before, because she doesn't try to stop Opal when my friend tells us about how highly her mom thinks of this new recruit.

"...and that's what my mom told me. Sorry if we got off on the wrong foot, Kuvira." Opal's small grin stretches into a genuine smile, and she sticks out her hand for the other woman. The rest of us stand wide-eyed at the spectacle. What Opal's doing is basically like giving your hand to a rabid Rottweiler, and part of me wants to hide behind Asami but then I also want to see what happens.

Kuvira takes it, giving it a brief shake. She doesn't let go, only staring Opal in the eyes with the tiniest smirk on her lips. "I apologize as well." And then she pulls her hand back, and resting there in Opal's palm is a folded ticket.

I grimace. Figures we weren't going to get away with not getting a ticket, but what can I say, I have high hopes.

"As for this one, I think he took it a bit far," she says coolly while slapping a pair of cuffs onto Wu's skinny wrists.

"What for?!" he yelps.

"Insulting an officer with name calling."

"That's not even an offense!"

"It is in my book," Kuvira says as she leads Wu to the back of her police car, pushing him into the backseat and closing the door behind him.

I turn to the others. "Well, at least we got rid of Wu, so now we don't have to worry about keeping an eye on him anymore," I shrug with a lopsided grin and a chuckle.

"Korra!" My friends lecture, and I shrink back, slightly hurt. Am I really the only one who thought my joke was funny?

I wave a hand as the rest of them scatter to file themselves back into Asami's car. "Haha I was just kidding… Couldn't you guys tell? Of course I didn't really mean it-" I barely have time to close my door as Asami begins speeding off again after Kuvira's police car. Bolin's finger almost drills itself into my eyeball as he shouts out directions.

"They went that way! Follow them, Asami!"

I sigh. "Bo, we're on the freeway. There's only one way to go, dummy."

He gives me a disappointed look and I just fold my arms across my chest for the rest of the ride to the police station.

We quickly pull up into the first open parking spot we see and then file back out again, me and Opal finding ourselves at the back of the pack.

Ope nudges me in the ribs lightly. "Honestly, I don't know how things could get any worse tonight," she tells me as we walk through the clear glass doors.

"I know, right?" I shake my head and we stop behind the desk. I can hear Asami and Mako trying to make amends with whatever poor soul is here at this hour about getting bail for Wu while Bolin jumps in here and there with small nods and whatnot. "I just don't see why we can't leave that skimpy little string bean here for the night; I mean that kid's got green so I'm sure his parents or some other important person could just get him out in the morning." For some reason my thoughts jump back to what Asami said when I pulled Wu back into the car just a bit earlier, right after she gunned it and I literally thought he'd fly out the sunroof. I watch her as she swiftly (and not surprisingly very maturely) negotiates with the deputy behind the desk.

"We're his friends, and I'm the one who's at fault-" I can hear her say. Something about those words sounds so genuine, like she really means it. And just like back in the car after I freakin' risked my life for this guy, I really believed her, about feeling the same way that Wu and Mako and Bolin did. If there's one thing I know for sure, it's that Asami doesn't lie. There might be some times where we've had miscommunication, but so far there hasn't been anything we haven't been able to talk through. I trust her, and I trust her words.

"Come on, Ope." I pull at Opal's elbow and direct her to a row of seats at the side of the hallway, my eyes still glued to Asami and Mako sorting through things with the person behind the desk.

I'm unaware that I've fallen asleep at some point, Opal and I nestled into each other in a groggy mess, until I feel warm arms wrap around me, pulling me to my feet. Not sure what time it is I open my heavy-lidded eyes, and see a pair of emerald green ones gently fixated on me, matched with a contrasting, upturned line of deep red.

Asami.

The body beside me is also lifted away, and I let the arm around my waist guide me back to the car, where I fall back into the passenger seat as a light kiss is pressed gingerly to my forehead.

* * *

The next morning I remember waking up next to Asami. Her thin body was splayed alongside me, and I remember studying her peaceful face as her chest slowly rose and sank while she breathed. It was early then; the sun hadn't yet rose but instead was hiding behind a sheet of silver clouds that signaled the days were quickly dropping in temperature as it got closer and closer to winter.

I stayed there in bed, just watching Asami for a while. Memories from the previous night flew through my head like a lazy flock of birds, sometimes a stray one followed delayed behind the others. Although I didn't like having to bust Wu out the past night, I think deep down I knew that it was the right thing to do. Of course Asami and Mako knew it was the right thing to do from the beginning, they're smart like that.

But then I guess that's when it first hit me, the initial wave of prodding thoughts in my mind that poked at me every now and then the last day there with everyone in the bustling LA area.

And it's not like the thoughts are degrading, but they're questioning, if anything. I'm not sure if I've ever experienced such self-incrimination/interrogation before, but if I wasn't sure about that before then, I was definitely sure about it now.

It's almost like everything has changed, and then again nothing hasn't.

Asami's working more often than not with Varrick, as the two are still intertwined with their deal for the time being. Yeah she's made amends with her father, and she said he respects her decision to work with their business partner for a while, so she's still bunking with me at my place (which I'm happy about). Things may still be a bit awkward between her and her dad sometimes, but they're for sure better than they were before.

Mako, for some reason, was legitimately hired by Wu to become his new bodyguard. Lemme see - first he was a trainee at our local sheriff department for Opal's aunt Chief Scar (get it? You know, cause Scar was Simba's uncle and Beifong is Opal's aunt? Okay, I'll shut up now…), and somehow he got to become an actual officer at one point. And now he's a bodyguard - heck, Mako's got things going for him. Maybe even Wu too, cause that guy's hella clingy. Kind of like an overly-attached girlfriend. I didn't think Wu would stick around for long, but apparently he's decided to remain here for a while. Mako's not that excited, but he's putting up with it.

Bolin's beginning to get started on that new movie series thing that Varrick mentioned a while back, and he's always telling me how much fun it is. He says it's a bit challenging having to be a college student by day and movie star by night (those were his exact words), but every time I get the chance to see him there's a sparkle in his eyes that screams enthusiasm mixed with an appreciation for life that's brighter than it was before.

Which also brings up the fact that Opal has started officially dating Bolin, so the two are always stuck to each other like Velcro when we're all gathered together. Sometimes it's cute, like when we're at an amusement park and Opal's clinging to Bolin as she's screaming on a roller coaster, but other times it's annoying, like when we're having dinner and they're making googoo eyes at each other. The next thing you know they've ordered a skillet chocolate chip cookie and are spoonfeeding one other. Opal, as I was saying, is also a lot more cheerful than usual; it's hard to see her in a bad mood. Most of the time when she's in a bad mood it's because she can't see Bolin since he's busy at StoneTech with Varrick working on their top secret movie project (it's also probably because of that red-haired chick who co-stars with him). As for her Victoria's Secret dream, I'm not sure if she's let that go yet.

And then there's me. Like what I was saying before, what I've come to realize that morning after we rescued Wu from Kuvira's evil clutches.

Asami and Mako, now there's two people who have things going for them. They're going to get somewhere. Asami's a natural born genius, along with being a goddess and all-around perfect specimen of a human being.

Mako, now he's one of those tall handsome guys with a semi-good personality. Aside from his shark brows and sometimes stale attitude, he's a great guy, and one of my best friends for what's been the majority of my life.

Bolin is advancing into becoming a movie star, and Opal's - well, I guess you can say she's found love - kind of like me. And even though she's probably still hung up on that model dream of hers, she hasn't mentioned it recently so I'm guessing she's put it on the shelf for now.

But me?

Me. That's whose plans I want to know. What am I going to do? What am I doing? What am I supposed to do?

What was I meant for?

"Hey, Earth to Korra."

A tan hand floats up and down in front of my face, and I blink a few times before things begin to refocus and I see Opal staring back at me, her olive eyes boring into mine.

"Are you okay? You look kinda lost."

I adjust the beanie on top of my head, letting my frozen fingers trace back down the length of my hair. "Yeah, I'm good. Just thinking about finals more than I should," I lie, feeling the guilt begin to pool in the pit of my stomach. I don't lie to Opal, I mean, not normally, unless it's about who ate that doughnut she was saving in her bag and which suddenly disappeared.

"You'll be fine, I know you will." Opal pats me on my shoulder and gives me a smile. The wind blows a little harder, messing with her short hair, and she pulls her knees up closer to her chest. "And if you have any trouble, I'm sure Asami can help you with stuff, right? She's really smart."

I lay my back against the tree and let my gaze drift up to the cloudy sky. "Maybe, she's busy a lot most of the time now. You know, working with Varrick and stuff." Saying Asami's busy is bittersweet, the words flowing easily off my tongue. It's true, and although I dislike saying what I did, I also am proud for her. I'm happy for Asami.

"I get how you feel. Bo's kinda busy with his footballs games and film stuff."

"Bo's not that smart anyways, no offense Opal. I don't think he'd be able to help you with your homework or study for finals."

Opal makes one of those _'pffffttt'_ noises, waving her hand again. "I know that, Korrie. I was just trying to relate, I thought you knew that."

"I did. I just thought I'd mention."

We're quiet again, and I close my eyes, letting my head fall back against the tree now.

One of those nagging thoughts pops into my mind again, and as much as I'd like to push it out I can't.

"Opal, can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"Do you ever wonder what you're supposed to be doing here? Like, what are you meant for?" The words are flat, and I try not to make them sound like I'm that interested in her answer, like I haven't been thinking about this stupid little thing for months. Like I haven't been obsessing, or haven't been worrying.

"Sometimes."

I stay quiet, but nod.

"Sometimes I wonder what I'm supposed to do here, but I figure maybe I shouldn't worry about that too much. I think that maybe I should just live my life, and it'll come to me at one point, kinda like an epiphany or something."

I make a face, although I'm sure Opal can't see it. Kinda like that grumpy cat face. "I don't know if it's like that, Ope. What happens if this epiphany thing doesn't hit you until you're like, fifty-seven? That's pretty much half of your life gone right there."

A haughty little laugh escapes my friend. "Korra, have you been thinking about your purpose in life?" she asks, clearly astonished that I, a normal human being, am wondering about something so trivial.

"Actually, my place in the universe," I correct her, and she giggles. "Just a teensy bit," I add. Then the reality of it all comes down at full speed on me again. "But honestly, it's like everyone else knows what they're supposed to be doing, like Asami and Mako and Bolin - they're all like, finding these amazing things they're super good at, and they like doing it, and here I am, here _you_ are," I motion to the two of us unenthusiastically, "just here. Floating through life like we're on inner tubes on a waterpark's lazy river." Now I turn to Opal, and I see her frown like she just tasted something nasty.

"Okay, when you put it like that, I guess it does make me feel like I'm on an inner tube too…"

"See what I mean?" My mind keeps on churning the thoughts. "I just want to know what I need to do. I want to be needed, and feel appreciated for something I do."

"Maybe you shouldn't be thinking about this so close to finals, if it's that time-consuming," Opal tries as she tears up a small fistful of grass and lets it fly out of her hand. "It's making my brain hurt."

I sigh, figuring my friend is right. I shouldn't be thinking about this, but I can't help it. I think my mid-life crisis hit me a bit sooner than expected. "Yeah, I guess you're right." Gathering up my backpack I place it next to me before standing to my feet and slinging it over my shoulder. I'm tripping over myself with this. "Let's go, Ope."

Opal and I head back together to our cars, where we exchange a small farewell and the two of us get into our vehicles, splitting off on different ways at the exit to our respective homes.

* * *

"I'm home," I announce as I walk through the door, and Naga immediately comes bounding up to me and throws her paws on my shoulders. I've been used to her excited greeting since I was a child, so it's not like I'm surprised. I hug my furry best friend back in return, making sure to scratch her behind the ears - she likes that. "Heeey Naga girl! Whatchu been up to, huh? Just chillin'? Gah, I missed you too, haha-" One of her sloppy wet kisses finds the corner of my mouth, and I enclose her in my arms once more again before letting her go. I'll never get tired of that.

It sounds pretty quiet in here. But you know, now that I think about it I didn't see anybody's car outside in the driveway. That probably means the parents are working, and Asami's convertible isn't here so she's probably at Varrick's or something similarly important.

"Anyone home?" I try again in the kitchen.

No one. Not a soul.

Damn, it's like a ghost town in here.

I shrug and decide maybe I'll wash up before I eat something. I don't have swim anymore at the moment, since we finished and won in the finals, and I kind of miss it. I can't really do anything about it though, so for now I just work out at the gym in my free time. Recently I've been finding myself there more and more, pumping iron with a surging power source emanating from my curious mind. My curious mind that has been very annoying lately. I go to the gym thinking that maybe I can take my mind off of things, and concentrate on my body instead of my place in the universe.

After I've thrown my backpack into my room I head down the hall to the bathroom, Naga happily skipping along beside me.

Once there I stare at the girl in the mirror for longer than need be, unable to rip away my eyes from her startling blue ones staring back at me. Naga sits at the foot of the doorway, her tail thumping away lightly on the wooden floor.

I take the light brown beanie off of my head, throwing it aside on the bathroom counter, all the while never taking my eyes away from my reflection.

Just staring at Korra, just standing here and staring at Korra - I know it's not really going to help me with anything. It won't help calm the stormy seas of my mind, and I accept that.

But I don't want to accept that I can't do anything about it, so that's why I'm here, studying myself in the mirror.

Bracing myself.

I _can_ do something, right?

If this epiphany won't hit me until I'm fifty-seven (heck, I don't even know when it'll happen, if it ever does, like Opal thinks for some reason), then I'll step forward and find the epiphany first.

Opening the second drawer from the top I reach into it, and find what I'm looking for.

Pulling back my loose hair I bunch it at the back of my head, and then sucking in a quick breath I cut through the collected handful. And no, I haven't ever done this before so if it goes wrong, then sucks to suck.

I don't hesitate throwing the remains into the trash can, and when I look back up I grin at the girl in the mirror.

She means business.

* * *

 **sorry for the wait. for those of you who guessed kuvira as wu's ex-girlfriend, kudos to you. and i was thinking the story was moving kind of slowly, so i'm trying to pick up the pace so that we can see an ending sometime not in the next 500 years, haha.**

 **next chapter might be a surprise treat (maybe?), because i'm planning on a pov from someone we definitely should see/hear more from.**

 **a new fan art is available made custom by deviantart artist dilutra, so if you'd like to see it head to my profile for the link. thank you to all the new readers for faving and following, and to those who have stuck with me from the beginning up until now. thoughts are appreciated.**


	30. Chapter 30

**weeeelll i kept my promise, so here's a jinora pov. let's hope i did her justice.**

* * *

 **Maybe, _Just Maybe_ , We Need Each Other - Just Like She Needs Us**

I watch silently as Korra grabs her gym bag, which is probably stuffed with a gazillion water bottles and energy bars. She stops by the door for a moment and takes the time to crack a small smile at me.

"Hey, I'm gonna head to the gym for a bit. I'll see you when I get back, okay? Don't tell Tenzin I ditched you." She does one of those things with her hand where she leaves her pinky and pointer finger out, flipping the hand between her line of sight and me. It's kinda stupid, but silly.

"Yeah, no problem. I think we'll be fine anyways, since we got an extra helper here," I motion to the boy sitting next to me, and it takes me a few seconds to realize he's fully-absorbed in the football game on screen so I give him a sharp nudge with my elbow and he blinks, nodding.

"Oh yeah! We'll be fine, you can count on us to make sure everything goes smoothly." Kai wiggles his eyebrows, and Korra tries stifling her laughter (as do I). Very suave Kai, very suave.

"Okay, I trust you guys," Korra says as she opens the front door and steps out. "Take care of Naga and your little brother and sister, okay Jin? I'll try to be back before the others get home."

And with that final statement Korra closes the door behind her, shutting me back in my world of watch-your-smaller-siblings-while-hanging-out-with-your-crush. How much worse can a date get? Okay, not that it's a date, but you know… Me and Kai, Kai and me, no parents or adults or babysitters around…

Lemme just put this into perspective first. My dad is like a totally overprotective kind of guy, the one who probably won't let me have a boyfriend until I'm in my eighties. I'm not joking. What I'll settle for right now is inviting Kai over to Korra's when she has to babysit, so at least we can spend some time together when he's not working. So far it's been going pretty well, and he likes being around Ikki and Meelo and Korra and Asami, when the older two mentioned aren't busy.

Although recently they have been, and it's been leaving me a bit conflicted. Korra was always there for us, and I know she always will be, but now it feels almost as if she's drifting away. It all started after she cut her hair, which came as a bit of a shock to both our family and hers because it was so sudden. Of course she still looks really good with short hair, but y'know - something's changing with her, and I don't know what. I feel like all she does is work out at the gym now.

I try to ignore Ikki and Meelo rolling around on the floor with Naga, and turn my attention to Kai, tapping him on the shoulder. "Hey Kai… I was just wondering, but do you think Korra's been acting strange recently? I think she's been a bit different than normal."

"How so?" His bright green eyes remain focused on the television.

"I don't really know for sure… It's more like she's going through something, but won't tell me what it is. It's happened before, although we had to force it out of her to get all the details."

I'm thankful that Kai seems more concerned with my preoccupation now, since he's switched his attention to me. "Maybe she's having problems with Asami?"

That can't be it, I would have known if it were that simple. "Nah, they're okay. It's something else though," I say, biting my lip in thought. I can feel Kai study me while I think, in turn causing my cheeks to begin to experience a nervous heat that spreads across my skin like a wildfire.

If it wasn't for the sound of keys jangling at the door followed by the turn of the knob and a familiar wave of jet black hair, I'm not sure if I would have been able to sit still without squirming uncomfortably for the rest of the evening.

"Hey everyone," Asami drops her satchel to the floor and sweeps back a large lock of hair, sighing a breath of relief in the process. She's immediately met by two midgets latching themselves onto her long legs.

"ASAMI'S BACK!" Meelo and Ikki shout, and I want to go over there and give Asami a hug too but I think she's already pretty busy trying to hold up the half-polar bear half-dog Naga while keeping herself upright (sometimes we joke about Naga being half polar bear, since she's so monstrously big). I settle for a large smile and a wave, as so does Kai, as Asami attempts to return the gesture. Somehow she manages to succeed without falling over.

"What's up you guys?" Asami looks down to her lower half, which still has a few blood-sucking limpets holding onto her. Naga had enough self-control to give Asami a momentary tackle, and now she's happily wagging her tail over here at our feet. Clumsily, Asami saunters over to Kai and me and takes a seat at the other end of the couch.

"Just chillin'," Kai flashes a grin at Asami, cocking his head in her direction. I somehow get the feeling he's a bit of a ladies' man, but hey, it's not like any woman can resist. Or boy, for that matter - Bolin seems to have a thing going for him, but Opal keeps him on a leash. Thank god.

"Just chillin', huh?" Asami nods and looks over at the tv. She leans her head back over the top of the couch and exhales deeply. I watch her and giggle as she blows a strand of hair into the air before wiping at her forehead with the back of her hand. She closes her eyes. "Are you sure you two aren't dating yet?"

"W-What?!" I'm flustered a bit, not quite sure what to say. I do like Kai, but I don't think we're exactly there yet, and it seems like everytime Asami comes over and Kai's here she tries to initiate things (that I hope will initiate soon).

"Daddy doesn't like Jinora hanging around boys." My little sister unclasps herself from around Asami's leg, falling back onto the carpet. "He'd totally kill her if he found out she had a boyfriend."

"I-I -"

"More like he'd shave her head and shut her in her room for the rest of her life, forcing her to become a hermit and have all her food slipped through a hole in the door," Meelo says as flatly as if he was reciting the alphabet, and I blink at him in horror. But yeah, I guess that's something dad might do.

"Meelo, I don't think your dad is that mean," Asami giggles, and Meelo blushes a bit.

I stay quiet, not trying to start back up the conversation. I want to speak to Asami about Korra, but I'm not sure how to bring it up.

"Seriously though, it seems like you're always here Kai when Jinora and the kids are around," Asami looks over at Kai, and he shrugs. I don't know if it's just me imagining things, but maybe Kai's cheeks turned a shade darker than normal. She then grins sneakily, and I pick up my cellphone from the couch, trying to make myself look like I'm actually doing something. Which, of course, I'm not. Not after Asami said that, heck no.

"It's the only time I really get to hang out with them," Kai easily responds.

My eyes widen as I feel him move closer towards me, our shoulders touching. I try to ease the heavy beating of my heart, telling myself to implement those heart-slowing techniques that dad so often tries to teach to me and my siblings.

"Plus, being around Jinora is fun. She's really cool," he adds, and I have to fight back a blush.

Asami lifts her head up and smiles. "That's good. I'm glad you guys are getting along."

"Are you kidding me?!" Meelo shoots up from the carpet, frightening the living daylights out of me. "They're like always together, and Jinora is always telling me not to be annoying and I have to fight back and say ' _No, I am not annoying_ ', because Kai says he likes me too and I just wanna hang out around them and stuff like a big kid."

Asami makes a strange face at Meelo's sudden outburst, one that slowly contorts into a thoughtful one. I can tell she's trying to make it seem like she's really thinking about this, even if it may only be for my little brother's sake. He needs someone to defend him every now and then. "Hm… I can definitely see where you're coming from, Meelo. Yeah, maybe Jinora should let you hang out with Kai more often too." She leans closer to me, and I suddenly feel very small and vulnerable. "Or maybe she wouldn't mind sharing him?" The words tickle my ear, which is burning. Sitting between Kai and Asami, things are strangely and uncomfortably claustrophobic for me as of present, more than I would like them to be.

Kai eyes me suspiciously as I try to mouth a response, but my voice is shaky and so are my hands. My phone drops into my lap soundlessly. "I - I don't care if Kai wants to spend time with Meelo; it's fine with me," I say, although I don't really mean it.

My little brother cheers and does a handstand before running to the closet and draggin out the wii console, yelling he'll challenge anyone to a round of Just Dance as his victory celebration.

It takes me a few moments to register that Asami has her arm around me, held up by the couch's back. I shift my eyes to my right where Kai's sitting, and it looks like he's still busy watching the game. I want to sigh in relief, hopefully I didn't make a scene about all that sharing Kai nonsense. Part of me wants to bury myself into his tanned arms and just have him hold me while we snuggle, watching tv. Asami can watch us from afar, and I'd be the happiest girl in the world.

Or then I can go with the other choice, keep my hands and feelings to myself and sit here with Asami curiously studying me as I nervously sit between her and my crush.

As much as I'd prefer the first choice, I know that's not something that'd happen anytime soon. Look like I'll have to settle for the second choice for now. But no one said I couldn't make the best of it, right? Maybe it's time for me to shoot some of my own questions Asami's way.

"Hey Asami…" I pull my knees closer to me, wrapping my arms around my shins. "Do you think Korra's been acting strange recently?"

Asami crosses a leg on top the other, humming in thought. I'm sure she's have to had noticed something. If me and my siblings weren't counted as some of the closest people to Korra, I'd have to say Gran-Gran and Asami would be a close second. Not sure if they'd tie, or one's more trustworthy than the other, but I know for sure that Korra goes to them both whenever she's troubled. Maybe she just hasn't come talk to me about anything recently because she doesn't think I'm adult enough?

I decide to add a bit more input. "I think there's something she's not telling me, and I'm kind of bothered that she's dealing with something that I don't know about. Maybe it's something I can help her with, you know? Or if not, I hope she's told someone else about it, like maybe you."

Asami's eyes meet mine, but in them I don't find the security I was hoping for. She looks just as lost as I do. "I have noticed Korra's been a bit different too - I just can't pinpoint what it is."

"Have you asked her about it?" Kai asks before I can say anything, although that was what I was going to say to Asami (see, there's more proof that Kai and I are perfect together - it's like we have a mental connection, or so I like to fantasize).

Asami's dark hair flows loosely around her v-neck as she shakes her head. "I have, but she never says much. It's like she's kind of… How should I say this? Maybe like -"

"Drifting away," I finish, and Asami nods.

"Exactly." She smiles, but it's a sad smile, one that I wish I didn't have to force onto such a beautiful face. "It doesn't take a genius to see why though… I'm gone all the time now, working more than I ever have. I know she's happy for me, she always tells me she's proud of me. But…" Asami drops her arm from behind me. "It's like she thinks that maybe I don't need her anymore, or something like that," the Future Industries heiress states without a hint of happiness in her voice. All I can hear is sorrow. I'm sure my siblings and Kai can hear it too, as well as Naga, because we're all quiet, just absorbing Asami's broken words along with her broken heart.

"Have you told her that?" I gently slide my hand over Asami's, gripping it tightly.

Strangely enough, Korra's girlfriend blushes. "Y-Yeah, I've tried… But it's like she just brushes it off, saying that isn't the case. I even try to butter her up with kisses and things of the like, but -" She sighs exasperatedly as I too try to fight back a blush, imagining Korra and Asami getting down to business.

Okay okay Jinora, think good thoughts, positive thoughts…

"But she's somehow gotten so far away, and I don't know what to do about it to bring her back. I feel like everything just went downhill after I started working with StoneTech; ever since then I've been so busy, barely having enough time for school. And when I do get free time, I try to ask Korra if she'd like to do something together, but she says that I'd probably be wasting my time with her."

I bite my lip. Yep, Korra's got that case of self-doubt bad. Like the time before, where we found out about her insecurities over a game of strip poker and three boxes of pizza.

"I feel like I'm going to break her heart even more now too."

"What do you mean?" The football game playing has become nothing more than mere background, white noise that I unconsciously block out in order to fully hear this woman's words. This is Korra we're discussing, and I'll do anything to help my friend.

Almost reluctantly Asami raises her head, fixing me with a green stare full of pain. "I'll be leaving on a long business trip. It'll be in about a week from now, and I'll be gone for a few months. I was going to tell Korra today, but I didn't know how to break it to her…"

I'm unsure of when my hand slipped out of Asami's, but at some point in time it did.

"You're leaving..?" Ikki mutters. This is probably the quietest voice I've heard her speak in all the years I've had to live with her.

Asami gets up from the couch slowly, running a hand through her thick hair in a nervous manner. Her breaths are labored, and the prolonged rests between them makes it all the more dramatic. "I - I have to. It's a big opportunity for me in my journey to becoming an engineer; my father and Varrick are both coming along as well, and for once it's something my dad is actually encouraging me to do that we're mutually agreeing on."

Meelo walks over to Asami, standing before her with a large frown on his face. His eyebrows are furrowed together in disappointment, and it takes me more willpower than I thought it would to not leave my spot to give him a hug. Instead I run Asami's confession over and over again in my mind, still trying to process the reality of it all.

"Don't leave."

Those are the only words he says. And then he hugs her again, cheek pressed tightly against her thigh.

And truthfully, those are the only words suitable enough to be said at this moment.

Asami pats his little bald head, and I try not to look at her. Instead I bring my head down, focusing my eyes on an invisible spot on the carpet.

"I have to, Meelo. It's - It's hard for me too, believe me. I don't want to leave you all, you're all so special to me and I -"

I can't hold it back any longer.

I leap up from my spot and latch onto Asami's waist, burying my face into her old sports jacket that smells faintly of grease and flowers and all those other things my silly little brother and sister talk about. It's something familiar I've grown accustomed to, just the same as we have all grown accustomed to her. Asami's family now.

But instead of me telling her I don't want her to leave, I do what I should do. The right thing to do. "Be safe. Please come back."

A pair of warm arms circles my back, and I welcome the closeness now, contrasting with the unpleasant feeling I had earlier in the the pit of my stomach a while before due to Asami's nearness. "I will. I promise."

After a few moments Naga whines, and I turn away from Asami to look at Naga. Kai has moved from his spot on the couch to standing beside Naga, the two looking a bit uncomfortable having not joined in the little group hug we somehow managed to create in the feels-full moment.

"What about Korra?" Kai scratches Naga's head, and she whines again. I think she knows what's happening here too, or at least has a faint idea of reality's harshness.

Asami ever so gently removes my siblings and I from around her, making her way to where Kai is standing by himself. She places a pale hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about Korra - that'll be my job. Leave telling it to her for me, okay? I don't want any of you to have to get involved in this any more than you already have." A small chuckle escapes her throat, and just like her smile it retains more sorrow than it should have, although there's no helping that in our current situation. She shakes her head to herself before fixing Kai with faint determination in her emerald eyes. "What Korra needs is for you all to be there for her when I'm gone, okay? She needs strong people like you in her life, probably even more now than before."

Kai nods, and when he speaks his voice cracks a bit. "Okay."

"Thank you." Asami does her best to smile, and by the way her eyes remain closed a second or so longer than normal I know she's trying to keep back tears that are threatening to spill from behind her mascara-traced lids. She blinks a few more times as she slowly stands upright, and then looking over to me she attempts a giggle. "Come on, let's cheer up guys, okay? I'm sorry for ruining the mood."

I would have suspected Meelo or maybe Ikki to begin jumping up and down again at Asami's decree to keep things bright, but instead they stare at her like somebody just died and Asami said that it was fine, let's go and celebrate. I don't blame them.

Gently I take the dangling wii controller out of Meelo's tiny hand, and for the first time I truly realize just how fragile my little brother really is. "Meelo, I'll challenge you to Party Rock Anthem. I know it's your favorite." He stares back at me with his big gray eyes for a moment before a tiny grin graces his lips. It's weak, like a fatigued heartbeat, barely able to properly function. It makes me so want to envelope him in a large hug and tell him everything is going to be okay, but for now all I know Asami wants is for us to let it go. I know it's hurt her more than it should have, telling us four.

And it'll probably be even harder, having to tell Korra.

* * *

I didn't want to be there when Korra came back.

I don't think any of us did, really.

She had burst through the door with her usual lumberjack style, thumping around like she owned the place and tossing her log of a gym bag off to the side as Naga ceremoniously tackled her. In that very instant that Korra emerged back from the depths of whatever gym she had previously been to, probably feeling invigorated and accomplished, the five of us in the living room experienced a sudden downpour of remorse. It was suffocating, in a way - being agitated by what had happened a few hours ago and laden with the horrifying question of what things would be like a couple of hours (or even minutes) from now.

Naga had finally relaxed when Korra gave us her full attention. "Oh hey, I didn't think you would be home before me, Asami." She was pleasant; a semi-rarity nowadays due to her unusual and recent kind of social departure. "Maybe you guys wanna watch some Netflix later? I should probably take a shower first; I kinda stink and I'm all sweaty, haha…"

And being the brave soul Asami is, she then stood up, making her way to Korra, who looked at her curiously. "Korra, there's something I need to tell you."

There was nothing other than the most petulant worry plaguing my mind then, and I quickly grabbed both Ikki's and Meelo's hands. "Let's go into the kitchen, guys. Maybe start dinner," I suggested half-heartedly, although I'm sure they knew I didn't really mean it. Kai's saddened gaze met mine, and he too left his spot at the couch as we all headed into the kitchen.

In my new culinary confinement I did the best I could to open drawers, shuffle silverware and sort through things in the fridge. I wanted to do anything I could to make it seem like I wanted to give Korra and Asami privacy, not like we were standing around fretting about the future of their relationship. And truth be told, I was lying to myself, because I really did want to know what was going to happen.

And I guess this is where my curiosity's led me to.

"Korra, do you want to talk to me about it?" I sigh deeply, forehead pressed to the hard wood of my friend's bedroom door. My eyes flicker to Asami standing farther down the hallway for a moment, and I feel a pang of disappointment in my chest.

"There's nothing to talk about," Korra replies loudly. "You heard what Asami said, right? I just want to be alone for a while."

The soft hand on my shoulder startles me, and when I turn around, expecting a tall, dark-haired girl to be standing over me, instead I find Kai. It's strange how here he is, standing beside me with his jade green eyes so similar to Asami's, hand on my shoulder like it belongs there.

And it truly feels like it does, especially right now.

Asami is still standing awkwardly near the top of the staircase, biting her lip. The pained expression on her face has deepened.

I try not to stare, instead looking back at Kai, who gives me a small smile.

"Come on Jinora, I think maybe we should leave Korra alone for a bit."

"Yeah." My voice is small, miserable. "Okay."

Asami trails down the staircase before me and Kai, shoulders slumped in a fashion I never knew she was capable of. Usually she's so perfect (okay, who am I kidding Asami Sato is always perfect) and now it's almost like I'm staring at another person, someone who isn't the Future Industries recently-appreciated genius. I hate to admit it, but if anything Asami looks defeated. And it is a look that, for once, does not suit her well at all.

In the living room Asami throws herself onto the couch, down face first as she melts in with the cushions.

Ikki walks by with a plate of chow mein in hand (we thought it might be nice to make Korra's favorite dish, maybe lure her out of her room - but sadly it didn't work), and plops down on top of Asami, facing the ceiling. She then begins to swirl her fork absentmindedly in her plate, shoving in bite after bite rather emotionlessly.

Meelo lies on the floor with Naga, the two glued to the tv screen with expressions similar to Ikki's as colors flash to and fro.

I can only stare at the pitiful sight before me, and feeling the blues seemingly overwhelm me after the heavily anticipated expelling of Asami's confession, I'm about to join them before I feel a tug at my hand.

"Wanna go outside?" Kai asks as I try to process the fact that my hand is actually being held in his as of this moment.

I have to manage substituting a nod for lost words as Kai leads the way out through the front door, gently shutting it behind us and effectively separating us for the moment from the gloomy atmosphere inside. We take a seat on the front step, our hands still cradled together loosely. My lungs have decided now is the time to increase their oxygen intake to maximum. Kick it up a notch, why dontcha.

At the same time that the different parts of my respiratory system have unanimously agreed that they all work overtime, Kai's hand in mine is also strangely soothing. My thoughts on Korra and her wellbeing have been leveled to a minimum, but I bring up the subject again just to keep my almost blank mind in the game.

"I don't understand why Korra's acting like this… I mean, she is hotheaded and a bit stubborn sometimes, but I think she's overreacting. Asami's going to be gone only for a few months, right?" I say out loud, somewhat asking myself and Kai at the same time.

"Sometimes a few months can feel like an eternity. Especially if it's someone who's gone away that you really care about."

I furrow my brows, not expecting to have heard such a mature response from the boy sitting next to me. The same boy who sides with me when we have indoor nerf gun fights, the same boy who eats just as much as my little brother, the same boy who I'd been too nervous to actually start a real conversation with for the longest time, thinking I was satisfied with him delivering me pizza to my babysitter's/friend's place on Tuesday nights. This was a side of Kai I had just begun to unearth.

"Y-You're right," I say, feeling slightly embarrassed that I didn't have the same insight as him. "I guess when you really do love someone as much as Korra loves Asami, when you hear they're going to be gone for so long it really makes you downhearted."

Kai grips my hand tighter, and again I sneak a glance at him.

His bright green eyes are more beautiful than ever, filled with the resplendent glow of a thousand stars shining high above us in the night sky. The moonlight prances lively across his skin and adds highlights to his hair, and I think maybe I'm seeing Kai in a new light (figuratively and literally).

It's most likely I'm so head over heels for him that I can't tear myself away (I think Ed Sheeran's 'Kiss Me' has started playing somewhere in the recesses of my mind), and sooner than I would like Kai turns toward me. A light blush dusts his brown cheeks.

"Wh-What?"

"Oh, nothing." I innocently shrug and fix my eyes on the stars. Maybe I should change the subject again, since he may be catching on to me. "Kai, have you ever cared about someone so much that a day away from them felt like a hundred years?"

Oh fudge. I don't know why I said that but I did.

Jinora, what did I tell you about changing the subject?

"Yeah. I felt that way about my parents," Kai says softly as he gives my hand an impossibly small squeeze, almost going by undetected if only it weren't for my momentarily-heightened senses. "They died a few years ago. I live with my relatives now, they're the ones who own the pizza place I sometimes help out at. But there's not a day that goes by that I don't think about my parents, honestly," Kai takes a second to gather his words, and I'm sure just as well his courage, "I really miss them."

I ignore the voice in my head lecturing me on getting too close or friendly with boys, instead scooching closer to Kai and getting rid of whatever space was once between us by filling the gap in with my body. "I'm really sorry, Kai."

And for some reason Kai cracks a small grin at me, one that at the same time causes my heart to skip a beat also makes me wonder if maybe he's not as serious about what he just said than I thought he initially was.

"Don't be. Being around you has really made me feel better, and I don't find myself obsessing over missing them as often."

"...Really?" Okay, guess I was wrong.

The charismatic grin on Kai's face stretches slightly, and he nods. "I think about you more of the time now, actually… I wish time would go by slower when I'm with you, because it flies by in the blink of an eye and then afterwards I notice that I'm wondering when we're going to hang out again," he ends with a nervous chuckle.

And now I know for sure my respiratory system is going overdrive (I may even experience an emergency shutdown, worst case scenario), so I move my gaze to my feet and stare at my toes like they're the most interesting little objects I've ever seen.

"That's how I know what Korra feels like," Kai adds. "When Asami's with her I'm sure she's the happiest girl in the world, and just thinking about her leaving for a few months is probably really depressing… She'll need us, Jinora."

I wiggle my toes. "I know." God, I know what I just said but I lied because I don't even know right now - Kai just keeps on proving himself to be more and more my ideal boyfriend, and I'm torn between blurting out to him that I absolutely adore his manliness and leaning my head against his shoulder to stare up at the night sky.

Carefully I lower my head down until it's lightly grazing his shoulder, and after a few more seconds I've gathered up enough ounces of courage to just let it rest there against Kai.

He doesn't stiffen or pull away at my touch, and I smile to myself, closing my eyes and savoring the moment.

"We'll be there for her Kai. Together."

* * *

 **yaaay for the surprise, hope you liked it. thanks to those of you who reviewed, and again your thoughts are always appreciated.**


	31. Chapter 31

**korra pov! i wonder what she's up to...**

* * *

 **Goodbye My Friend, Hello Heartache**

Sneaking out of my room was probably the hardest part of actually talking to someone. And it's not that there wasn't anyone in the house that would talk to me, they just weren't the right people. I didn't want to see Asami, and Jinora - there's nothing wrong with her. It's just that she's way too smart for her own good sometimes, especially smarter than me, I feel like. She'd probably give me some kind of lecture, except try to make it as friendly and subtle as possible for my already disrupted state.

Now I've made a choice of what my next move is after at least half an hour of just laying there in bed, staring up at the ceiling as I thought about what Asami said. In a manner of speaking I had locked myself in a pitiful, gloomy box, and I've had about enough of that for now. I at least want to share what I'm feeling with someone else, and Katara is the perfect individual. The idea of visiting her hit me like someone had just thrown a dodgeball at my head, kind of knocking me out of my depression for the moment.

I lift the window sill carefully and lock eyes with Naga. She wags her tail slowly, and I wipe a few tears of disappointment away from my eyes and give her scruffy head an affectionate rub. "I'll be back in a bit girl. Don't tell them I'm gone, okay? I'm just heading over to Katara's."

After carefully climbing out the window I walk cautiously down the length of the roof until I'm close enough to the trellis decorating the side of the house that I came climb down. There's a small thump as I land in the grass, and I make sure the others in the living room can't see me.

Through the window I see Asami lying face-down kind of hopelessly on the couch with Ikki on her back, and I frown. I'm about to turn around and head to the back so I can jump the fence to Katara's when I see two small figures on the front step. It's pretty dark, so I can't make out their exact details. I'm sure they can't see me, they look too absorbed in whatever it is they're doing to notice me sneaking out. But even so with their backs turned to me I know exactly who they are - Jinora and Kai, cuddled together looking up at the stars, keeping each other warm in the frightfully chilly December air.

For a second I can imagine me and Asami doing the same, but I quickly shake my head of what obviously can't be as of now and trudge around the corner of the house to the backyard.

I don't even bother knocking when I get to Katara's.

"Katara…" I close the back door of her kitchen and jump back as a small white cat skitters across the floor, frightened at my sudden entrance. All too well I turn my head in the direction of the living room knowing where she'd be, a late night cooking show playing on the large led tv screen. An old and wrinkled hand lifts itself up and flicks at me, beckoning me over as a voice calls out.

"Over here, darling."

My legs feel heavy as I make my way towards the couch, most likely not from my workout, and I fall into the soft cushions, all will to keep myself up utterly gone. I just can't anymore.

"Come back from the gym?"

"Yeah." I watch the chef on tv quickly flash-fry some chopped peices of meat, and my stomach rumbles, voicing it's hunger, but I ignore it. Now is not the time.

"Thought so."

Things are quiet for a bit as Katara and I both remain silent. And then, the old woman who's literally my grandma places a surprisingly warm hand on my own. My eyes squeeze shut tightly as I will tears back. I know what she's going to ask, and I know it's not wrong of her to think everything is alright with me. Because it's not, and I know it. She knows it.

"What's wrong? You're upset."

The tears I'm forcing to remain behind my eyes sting, but I still open them anyways to look at Katara. "Asami's leaving."

Katara pulls back a bit. She seems kind of shocked. "Ah… So that's what it is."

I nod.

"Then why are you upset? She's coming back, isn't she?" There's a knowing maturity to her voice that only comes with age, something that I obviously don't have.

I remove my hand from under Katara's and place both of them at my sides, balling them up tightly. "I've - I don't know… I've been having problems with myself, recently." My gaze wanders nervously Katara's way, but she doesn't make any effort to interrupt with a question. "It's hard for me, telling someone this - but I know I'm probably not going to get anywhere if I keep on bottling this up inside."

"And what is it you're bottling up inside, Korra?" Comes Katara's inquiring but sweet question. Her gentle voice is enough for me to keep going; it's soothing and familiar, something I know I can trust.

"I don't know what I'm meant for. I think that after meeting Asami, she's made me feel wanted and appreciated, and I love her for that… But she's also made me realize that I'm really nothing compared to her. I'm not smart like she is, I can't build a car out of thin air, I'm not some deity in human form - the same thing goes for Mako and Bolin. I mean, they've all found their knacks, and here I am, not doing anything. I talked to Opal about it, and she kind of seems to see what I'm trying to get at." I huff in disappointment at my deathly long speel. I'm almost out of breath from speaking while fueled on nothing but pure frustration.

"Its not that I'm mad at Asami - I mean, I'm not - I'm just mad at myself, maybe. Frustrated that I can't be anything like her or the others. It makes me feel useless, and I hate it. I hate myself for being so useless."

Katara leans in, wrapping her bony arms around me, and I return the embrace. She's warm and comforting, the light smell of nicotine wafting off of her fuzzy, oversized sweatshirt. I clutch at her tighter, feeling so lost and angry with myself. It hurts to breathe, and it's hard to swallow. I let the tears that I tried so hard to fight back flow freely down my cheeks and onto Katara's shoulder as she rubs my back.

"Shhhhhh. It's alright, Korra. Please don't say you hate yourself. You're a beautiful young girl who's brought so much joy to my life, I can't see any reason why you would say something so horrible as that."

I bury my face deeper into the crook of her neck. "But I'm no one, Katara. The - the world… People don't need me like they need everyone else." My voice is soft, words cut off every now and then by the occasional sniffle.

Katara pulls back, just enough so that she can cup my cheek. I stare into her old, blue eyes. Eyes that've probably seen so much, things way before my time. "Don't say that, child." She cradles the back of my head with her hand, and I kind of feel bad I didn't have enough time to take a shower before I decided to come here but Katara's so sweet she probably doesn't think anything of my sweaty stickiness. "You just haven't found your place yet."

I take this opportunity to pull back, and once I do so, fix Katara with a questioning look. "H-How do I do that? Find my place in the universe?"

There's a short laugh that bursts from Katara's old mouth, a mouth that rarely has a cigarette in it. It is only in one of these rare moments that you truly get to hear her smile through her laugh, and somehow it makes me want to crack a grin.

"Hahaha, oh dear… That's exactly what Aang used to say. How he wanted to find his 'place in the universe'." She shakes her head, the laugh slowly dying away but being overtaken by a sincere smile. "Well, that depends, I think. Are you up for change? Are you willing to do what you think may need to get done in order to find your place?"

My head nods immediately without me telling it to do so. I'm _that_ concerned out my problem. Literally, it's been eating me alive this whole time. Ever since that day that I cut my hair, I told myself I was going to do whatever it took to find what I was meant to do, and that's no joke. The only problem is I don't know what I need to do, so that's partially why I'm here, to gain some insight. Whenever I've had problems I come to Katara, and she's never steered me wrong.

Katara pats my hand a few times, her smile growing wider. "Good, good. It's important to be open, willing. It's when we hit our lowest point that we are open to the greatest change."

Mystery surrounds her words. I'm not quite sure what she's getting at, but it's already seeming like she might know what I need to do - that's a good sign. "So, uh…" I wince. "What does that mean?"

It's when Katara's smile widens into a grin that she gets up from the couch, making her way to the kitchen. I watch her with eagerness as she shuffles through a drawer that she keeps various bills and important documents in, and reaching into the farthest corner she draws out a few pieces of paper.

I dare not say anything until she comes back to the couch, motioning for me to hold out my hand (and that which I do), so that she can place one of the two small sheets into my open palm.

Slowly I try to focus on the small piece of paper in the dim lighting, and when I look back at Katara the tone in her voice says it all.

"How would you like to come with me to Alaska?"

* * *

I didn't want to admit it to Asami. I didn't want to tell her that I had realized it was entirely possible that someone could make you feel loved and useless at the same time.

That's because it wasn't her fault.

And just like she told me that time when I thought it was my fault she got into a fight with her dad, that's what she said: _"Don't ever blame yourself for a choice that I make."_ There's that strangled knot in my throat again as I watch Asami out of the corner of my eye. Her ebony hair blows gently in the wind, and there's a far off look on her face. I'm sure I'm more than half of the reason she's so detached right now. It's me. It's been me this whole time.

And there's her voice again, piercing my heart with every syllable as I recall that night she and I made amends and straightened out confusion, replacing it with trust and an even deeper want to be beside each other.

 _"You're a choice I made, and one that I don't regret either." Her sweet smile. The moonlight playing with her dark, swirling hair and dancing in her green eyes. "You're the best choice I've ever made, and I don't want you to ever feel sorry about that."_

My fingers seize the steering wheel harder. It hurts. It hurts trying to keep myself away from her, trying to distance myself so I won't feel worse than I do now. It's only been around a week since we found out she's leaving, but even so I remember crystal-clearly those sleepless nights I laid in bed with her arms around my waist, hating myself for not reciprocating her affection… Just lying there, feeling the guilt twist and turn in my gut as I told myself that it was for the best to keep away.

It's only now that I'm about to see her off that I know I've been lying to myself this whole time.

I'm going to miss her no matter what, and know it's the same for her.

What have I been doing this entire time?

We arrive in the parking lot of LA Express sooner than I would like. Putting the car in park I get out, closing the door of my little sedan behind me. The icy wind bites my cheeks as Asami follows suit, and the two of us wordlessly head to the trunk and heave out her suitcase. It's the large leather one she told me had once belonged to her mother years ago, a keepsake she holds dear to her heart.

Turning my head I see a limousine parked at the front of the large building, and I don't have to ask to know who it belongs to.

Asami notices me making out her father and Varrick's means of transportation in the distance, and she switches her gaze between the front of the airport to me and back a few times, almost like she can't choose who to stay with. And I don't want to hold her back, I really don't. Asami deserves this - it's been her dream for so long.

Her green eyes linger at the front longer when we notice a somewhat stout man emerge from the limo, along with a taller, leaner man in a dashing blue suit. When her eyes flash back to me they contain a pained expression, and I know that I've hurt her more than I first realized. Even though she hasn't uttered a word the entire ride here, it's as if all she wanted to say is right there, fixed in those emerald orbs. The same ones I got lost in the time I first met her (and still do).

"Well…" She heaves her suitcase up closer to her body, but unfortunately it sags back down to the concrete to rest by her combat boots. "I guess they're waiting for me. Our private jet should be here soon," Asami says, biting her bottom lip nervously.

"I -" I'm having a hard time choosing my words and forming my sentences, afraid that I'll say what's really on my mind. "I'm sorry Opal and Bo and the others couldn't be here to see you off." I stuff my hands in the front pocket of my thick hoodie, reaching up once to fix my beanie before hiding them in the jacket's depths once again.

"It's alright," Asami replies, so quiet it's almost a whisper. "Having you here to say goodbye to is enough for me." Her smile is sad, and my hands shift uncomfortably in my pocket, wanting so desperately to grasp her gloved ones.

There's nothing else I can do to keep myself from crying in front of Asami except for staring down at my dirty vans, which are a mottled cream color compared to the stark black of the ground beneath our feet.

That is, until I feel a hand (Asami, incredibly brave, taking off her gloves in such frigid weather? She's got guts.) place itself on my cold, ruddy cheek. Again I squeeze my eyes shut, exactly like I did with Katara. And I know what's going to happen next. I'm going to cry. I'm going to cry like a little kid, falling into my girlfriend's arms, unable to restrict my floundering emotions any longer.

"Korra, look at me."

The stinging in my throat burns like hell and the tears at the corners of my eyes attempt to pinprick their way to freedom.

I finally meet Asami's lonely green eyes, and she looks to be about on the verge of tears as well, although she seems to be able to control herself a little better than I can.

"I love you, Korra."

And then I can't hold it back any longer, and I break down, falling right into her arms. She catches me easily, and my tears throw themselves against her shoulder as violently and heavily as a monsoon. Her grip is strong, and I never want her to let me go.

I never want to let _her_ go.

I hate myself. I hate myself so much.

"I'm so sorry, Asami…" I manage to sputter out between heaving sobs, feeling her hold me tighter.

"Why? Don't be sorry, you didn't do anything wrong."

I shake my head, because I know it isn't true. "I did… I - I've been terrible to you these past few months, and I hate myself for it."

Asami just pulls me in closer, close enough that I can hear her heart pounding away beneath her heavy navy green jacket. It hammers away in her chest like a drum, but I know it's no match for my own - mine feels like it's going to burst at any moment. "Korra… It's okay. I know you've been going through a hard time. Don't blame yourself."

And now I just _have_ to pull away from Asami, because she doesn't get it. As much as I want to remain there in her arms, I can't. She needs to know before she goes. "Asami… No, I've - I've been distancing myself from you. I mean, i-it does have to do with me having a hard time, but none of it is your fault. I-I'm just confused. I didn't want to get hurt when you left, and I thought it'd be better if I didn't try to get closer to you than we are now. And then also I was kinda trying to figure out my place In the world and all that, buts it's way more difficult than I thought it'd be and I - I only realize now how stupid I am… I was so busy worrying about myself that I didn't think about you." There it is. The truth, mangled by my paranoia and forcefully choked out, but in one piece nonetheless.

Asami giggles, and she swipes slowly at the tears escaping my eyes with her thumbs, gentle as a summer breeze. She bites down on her lip again, shaking her head as a tear of her own escapes her right eye. My girlfriend blinks back, stifling what little laughter escapes her throat. "You ramble too much, you know that?"

A quick shot of laughter jumps out of me, and in that moment I know Asami isn't mad at me in the slightest.

I draw my fingers up to her own face, where I tuck that random strand of hair that always seems to hang loose behind her ear, losing myself in the sea of green before me.

"I love you too." I mumble, leaning in for a kiss. It's gentle, just like everything else about Asami. It reminds me of how lucky I am to have such a beautiful soul fall in love with someone so unpredictable as myself, someone so lost in an incredible number of ways.

Her lips are smooth and warm as I cast aside all my fear and guilt, knowing Asami's silently forgiven me. The body pressed up against me aches for something unspeakable, and only through the soft meeting of our mouths do I understand that Asami wants to be loved, just like how I want to feel needed. That's what Asami's wanted her whole life.

I wish the kiss could last longer, and I wish that I would have spent more time with Asami these past few months. Where was I when Asami needed my support? Over there in my little corner of self-pity, worrying about myself and my place in the universe while she waited so patiently for me to find all that I've been hectically searching for. Which I still haven't done yet.

"I promise Asami. I promise I'll change."

The girl before me chuckles, wiping away a few of her tears with the sleeve of her jacket. "Don't change too much, alright? I don't want you to be so different when I come back that I don't recognize you," she jokes. Asami heaves up her suitcase again, making it apparent that it's time for her to leave even though I want nothing more right now than for her to stay.

"I want to be better for you. I want be better for the both of us." It's a mystery as to where the words I said come from, but somehow I feel like they're the perfect thing I needed to say.

"Thank you, Korra." There's that sugar-sweet smile again, tinged with hints of sadness, and it's one of my favorite sights. I'm enveloped one more time in her arms, and I feel somewhat depressed knowing this is the last time I'll be in her hold for quite a while. At the same time it's enough to drive me to want to do my best to become better, not only for me, but for Asami.

My arms wind themselves around her waist, and before I know it she's released me, pressing a quick peck to the corner of my lips before lifting up her mother's old suitcase and walking off in the direction of her father and their eccentric business partner.

Getting smaller and farther away she turns toward me once, blowing a kiss in my direction before waving.

I wave back, the side to side motion of my arm a distraction for the ache in my chest.

* * *

"Bye girl."

Naga pushes her face into my side, almost in a head butting kind of way, before licking my hands. I rub her head and give her a small kiss on her wet nose, and she huffs. God, am I going to miss her. Like, a lot. But this is something I've got to do, and I promise myself and Asami that I'd get it done.

Katara places a hand on my shoulder, and I know she's trying to tell me that we'd better get going. Giving Naga one last bear-hug I stand up, and then heave my duffle bag over my shoulder.

Katara and I close the front door behind us and walk over to her place, where we get into her Mercedes. I throw my bag into the back seat, allowing myself a deep inhale as I try to relax into the passenger seat.

The aged creaking of the garage door opening behind us startles me a bit, but it's not nearly as loud as the heavy thumping inside of my tight chest. "Katara, do you think doing this is the right thing to do?"

The old woman grins at me and starts backing out. "Well, it's definitely worth a shot," she chuckles, and I can't help but crack a lopsided grin. "I think you'll find out some new things about yourself that you didn't know before."

Okay, well, I guess that'd be worth something.

Driving to the same airport I took Asami to just a little around two weeks before makes my stomach churn uncomfortably, and Katara and I sit in relative silence for most of the way there. I try to start up conversation when I can and feel like doing so every now and then, which makes me feel slightly better. Being with Katara always gives me a kind of peace; I think it comes package-deal with the familiarity I've Grown up with since I was a toddler (which is pretty much how long I've known Katara for - I can't exactly imagine ever not knowing her).

Before we actually get to the airport we make sure to leave Katara's car in a secured indoor parking structure, you know, the ones where people leave their vehicles as they take a plane somewhere.

I lug my bag out of the back seat and pull myself out of the car and into the cold morning. The sky is still pretty dark, I'm guessing it's gotta be around five am. I mean, that isn't a problem for me - sometimes I get up early to go running (which the solidarity of the activity brings a certain amount of unmatched content). What _is_ kind of bugging me more at the moment is the rebellious nature behind this whole idea… For some reason I find it pretty exhilarating.

Wanna know what I did? I'm heading to Alaska with Katara.

The thing is, I didn't tell my parents.

I didn't tell anyone, not even Asami.

For all they know, I'm still snoozing in my bed, exhausted and relieved with having finally finished my fall semester finals. Hehehe, I feel so sneaky right now… But I can't take all the credit for it, it was actually Katara's idea. Sometimes she can be surprising, and a lot of the times when I was younger she'd go along with some of my ideas and plans that really didn't seem to line up with her age. Still, it's something I love about the lady. Sometimes it's as if instead of an eighty-something year old here with me, it's more like I've got another eighteen-year old girl pal to hang out with. Someone not as (in all respect) annoying as Ope (who can be pretty annoying at times).

Because I'm a kind person who wants to do all I can for the woman who's basically my grandma I decide to carry Katara's bag as well, and easily put that one on my other shoulder. It's a bit of a walk to the airport from the parking garage, but it's not that bad. Aside from the slight bit of uneasiness I experienced in the car remembering the ride with Asami, I think I'm feeling more excited now more than anything. Excited for what I'm gonna find.

"Katara, since it's winter, do you think it'll be dark the whole time we're over there?" I ask the woman walking swiftly before me. It's almost a struggle trying to keep up with her. "Like you know, the whole eternal winter thing?"

Katara smiles at me as she pushes the glass door open, one of the many entrances of the large airport, allowing me to go through first. I do so without hesitation. "It matters on the location, Korra. Some areas get less sun than others do and others get more during the winter months."

"What about the flight there? How long does that take?" I babble. I'm pretty sure it's apparent how revved up for this adventure I really am.

"Hmm, maybe around five hours. It's not that bad."

Unable to restrain myself from piling Katara with various questions, my mouth going at a hundred miles an hour. Geez, I probably sound like Ikki right now.

Getting on the plane is probably even harder for Katara to endure with me by her side, it's my first time flying - but heck, Katara's so kind she doesn't make any attempt to show her annoyance (if she even has any, that is). I've got to hand it to her, she's like the incarnation of Mother Teresa.

A few stewardesses come by to give us some breakfast treats; Katara settles for a steamy cup of coffee while I guzzle down a hot chocolate. She tells me I'd better get used to drinking a lot of hot things, it gets crazy cold where we're going.

I munch on a blueberry bagel, bobbing my head to and fro to the beat of one of my favorite Panic at the Disco songs.

"You know -" Katara takes a sip of her coffee after pouring in a bit of creamer, and I turn her way, pulling out my earbuds. "Your father used to live in Alaska."

I almost choke on my breakfast. "N-No way."

There's a sly smile on Katara's lips, and she laughs a bit. "Yes. I'm guessing he never told you about it."

"Darn right he didn't," I stare at Katara, dumbfounded. What the heck?! My dad never told me he used to live in Alaska. I mean, he showed me a few pictures of him from when he was younger, saying that they were taken up north, but he never said that Alaska used to be his old home… "That's so weird! He's never mentioned a thing about living there when he was younger." I switch my gaze from Katara to my half-eaten bagel. "Why do you think he's never said anything about it?"

Katara sighs. "Talking about his life back in Alaska brings back some unwanted memories, I would say."

The bagel in my hand calls my name, but for now I'm more concerned with this new information Katara's shared with me about my dad. "Hey… Is that why you didn't protest when I said that I wanted to keep this a secret from them?" My blue eyes are focused on her shockingly similar ones, and her smile widens. There's a mischievous sparkle in her old eyes.

"Maybe. Maybe not."

I give her a little nudge with my elbow. "Anything else you wanna tell me?" I say, half laughing, hoping to get out some more astounding news from her.

"You've got some relatives up there."

"Seriously?!"

"Seriously."

"Next thing I bet you're gonna say is that I have a long-lost twin who I was separated from at birth."

"No, but your relatives are twins, if that's any better." She takes another sip of her coffee. "Eska and Desna are their names."

"Damn…" Looking outside all I can see is ocean, which is a dark blue color. The pale sun has begun peeking over the clouds, casting a light blueish-gray shade across the gloomy sky. I'm guessing this is a color scheme I'll have to start getting used to for the next few month. "It sounds like there's a lot of stuff I'm going to find out over there."

A small chuckle escapes Katara's throat as she looks down into her cup. "I sure hope so."

I finish eating my bagel, as well as inhaling another one and slurping down the rest of my hot chocolate, and feeling a bit drowsy I decide maybe I should rest a bit. Katara tells me it's going to be at least another four hours, and by looking at my phone she's right on the dot - it's only 6:48.

I've got this large polar-bear plushie from Bo and Mako that they gave me a few years back for my birthday, and I snuggle my face down into it's soft fur as I place it between my head and the window. Let's just hope that it doesn't somehow open up and I get sucked out the hole on our way there to Alaska.

"Wake me up when we get there," I mumble sleepily to Katara as I close my eyes, and I catch her nodding her agreement before they shut completely.

When sleep begins surrounding me like a dense fog and I can feel myself losing consciousness, that's when I dream of Asami, her full, red lips stretched into a beautiful smile as I meet her green eyes.

The sound of her laughter echoing through my mind makes my heart soar.

* * *

 **thank you for all your reviews last chapter. your thoughts and comments are always greatly appreciated!**

 **also there's a new fanart available made by the awesome drae, you can follow them on tumblr at _1000formsofdrae_. :D it's pretty sick, so make sure you check out my profile for the link to the picture - it should be the fourth one on the list. see you next time. :)**


	32. Chapter 32

**sorry about the wait, been busy with school having started up again. anyways, here ya go! (asami pov)**

* * *

 **She's _Where?_**

Slow, resounding breath echoes throughout my room. Besides that, there is silence.

But it's a good silence. I need this.

I can hear the clock ticking away on the wall, each minute passing by in a matter of equal intervals, those which I attempt to erase from my mind. Unfortunately, lying underneath it all I recognize the fact that I'm going to have to acknowledge them sooner or later.

After a few more quiet minutes I decide that perhaps it is best that I get ready, and so uncross my legs from their pretzeled position and blink a few times. Korra was right; meditating does really help a lot. Ever since those dreams I've been having about my mom, sometimes I feel the need to relax a bit, you know, ease the tension. Today though it was for a different reason.

Applying my makeup is probably the easiest part of the whole thing; it's about as easy for me as playing a game of pai sho with my father (which I associate with applying my makeup because it has gotten increasingly simple as time passed, don't mean to brag or anything). But yeah, piece of cake.

The only hard part is picking out a dress.

Ever since what happened a few months ago at my father's party, things have been quite different - sometimes a bit strained - between the two of us. Strained in the way that I know he's trying to hard to be a better father, and i can tell it's hard for him with all that he goes though and has to deal with (he is the head of Future Industries, after all). Even so, I appreciate his noticeable effort, and it's come to a point where he now respects a vast majority of my decisions without arguing or making a rebuttal.

Picking a dress was something he didn't even mention, but for the two of us it's the least of our worries, and personally a fragment of what I assume is his decency as a father.

I sort through the line of dresses hanging homely in my closet, swaying slightly with my touch.

Today I will be leading a corporattion meeting for Future Industries (followed by a simliar ruse from Varrick) to a potentially valid and important group of geniuses and world-renowned entrepreneurs.

The whole situation has got my mind reeling, but in an excited way. There's a tingle of anticipation crawling across my arms, alerting me of what I'm about to do. I'm amazed that I've received the opportunity to head such an awe-inspiring event, and in one of the most amazing cities in the world, nonetheless. It's not something I'd want to give up easily, and as hard as it is for me to say it I don't regret leaving our new home back in California to come be here with my father and Varrick.

As for where we are, we arrived in Tokyo, Japan about a week prior to today. So far what we've been doing is attending technological conventions, as well as showing up to other company gatherings (and I'll admit it, i've even done my fair share of exploring the city and it's surroundings too).

My fingers subconsciously settle on a sleek maroon dress, one that ends right above the knee. It's one-piece fit tapers up to end in a sleeveless manner at the top, with a rather appropriate neckline that is both at the same time enticing and aware of onlookers. I nod my head in approval at the unpredicted choice, and bite my lip. It'd look better (and feel a world better) with some kind of cardigan; it's surprisingly cold outside, being winter here.

In fact, it's almost Christmas.

Something I wont be home for, unfortunately.

The clock on the wall ticks away through all my meandering, and I pluck a thin black cardigan off of a hanger, along with a heavy, insulating noir overcoat, twin rows of buttons flowing down the front.

Planning from the night before I decided to wake early and start my day off with a light breakfast, followed by a warm shower, before getting in a nice half hour of meditation. With my hair almost dry, I decide to blow-dry the remaining moisture away, afterwards styling my thick jet-black locks.

Another twenty minutes later I've packed up some of my schematics and blueprint ideas into a small folder, which I stick into a squarish business purse, and is pretty much filled to the brim with the rest of the utilities I'll need for my presentation.

A stylized dab of deep red lipstick is th final touch, and hearing the small knock on the door I know I've timed everything perfectly.

I throw the lipstick into my bag and heave the small purse onto my shoulder, where I then head over to the door and inhale deeply before opening it.

"Asami. Good morning," my father says, the skin around the corners of his eyes crinkling together to form the crow's feet I've always adored so much. A much-missed smile, gentle and warm, graces his face. There's a brief moment of awkwardness when I notice he is thinking about giving me a hug, and I can almost see the gears in his brain turning harshly against each other as he attempts to decide if it'd be best to leave me alone.

He settles finally for placing a hand on my shoulder. "Are you ready to go?"

I nod, and it pains me somewhat to see he still struggles with trying to be a better dad. I'm pleased to see he wants more for me, but I'm also a bit saddened that a simple gesture such as a hug would be hard for someone as incredible as him.

Taking a step forward I wrap my arms around my father's tense shoulders, and pull myself close to the man who I've looked up to my whole life. The one who despite either of us being entirely open with one another, I know loves me. He just forgets to tell me, and doesn't quite know how to say it all the time either.

"I'm ready, dad." I pull away with a smile, and almost giggle when I see his face contorted by confusion, although he quickly switches to a contented smile.

"Good. I was hoping you'd be set by the time I got here; I'm not sure if Varrick is ready yet."

"Dad," I can't refrain from stifling a giggle this time around. "Your room is _literally_ down the hall; it shouldn't have taken you more than five seconds to get here. Also," I raise a finger pointedly as we get into the elevator (for some strange reason Varrick demanded a suite on the hotel's highest floor, so we have a ways to go), "Varrick's got Zhu Li with him; I think he'll be fine."

"Right, I forgot about that," my dad coughs out. It warms my heart in the tenderest way at how hard he's trying to at least make small talk.

The humming of the elevator speeding vertically through the building resounds throughout the small room, and dear god I can almost imagine the cheesy, overplayed elevator music wading cheerily through my mind.

"Did you eat breakfast?" he asks, and my lips curl once again into a smile.

"Yes, I did. Thank you for asking. How about you?"

"There was a specially made green tea pound cake made by the hotel's head chef himself -" my father places a hand to his chest in mock disbelief, the tone of his voice taking on a more teasing but still slightly serious manner "I'm sure you got one of those too?" and when I nod, he chuckles. "I couldn't help myself from eating almost the entire thing. It was delicious."

A short burst of laughter escapes me, bringing a large smile to his face. "Yeah, that cake was pretty good."

And then the elevator door slides open timely with a light ' _ding_ ', causing the two of us to look to the front where the deep mahogany doors open majestically like the parting Red Sea.

Unexpectedly Varrick stands in the middle of the hallway, decked out in a white suit with a sky blue collared shirt and teal necktie. His ever-so-trusty assistant Zhu Li looks like her typical secretary self, just a little more fancier than usual - higher pumps is the hint when she means business. Zhu Li offers my father and I a cheerful, slightly exhausted smile, while Varrick decides to immediately blind us with by flashing a brilliant, white-toothed grin.

"You seems excited," I joke, and Varrick practically flies into the elevator with us as he drags Zhu Li by the arm.

There's a moment of silence while he twists the end of his pristine mustache, and then he bursts out laughing, and quite uncontrollably, might I add. I in turn sigh, but not out of annoyance.

"Darn tootin' right I'm excited! It's my unbelievabley young business partner's first real meeting talk!" He slaps his knee in delight, and I swear it sounds so loud I wouldn't be surprised if it left a bright red mark. "Aren't you excited, Asami?"

The sparkling in Varrick's eyes brings about a strange nervousness in me, one that makes me a bit queasy. Almost as if his vigorous enthusiasm is bringing to light the reality of it all, how this is indeed a very serious matter, and one that is also a proud moment in my life. I turn to my father for a brief second and he raises his eyebrows, in a way silently prompting me to make a decision on what I'm going to say.

The elevator comes to a halt, and the four of us emerge into the glossed lobby decorated with traditional Japanese ornamentation. A medium-sized Christmas tree sits in the corner of the lobby, and I cast a glance at it before settling on a response in my head to answer Varrick with.

"I guess I'm excited. It's something I've been waiting for my whole life - I just can't believe it's happening right now. It feels a bit surreal. I'm not sure if I should be panicking, or if I'm right to feel calm."

As soon as the words leave my mouth two hands place themselves on my shoulders, one from Varrick and one from my dad. The looks on their faces is enough to make me break out into a wide smile.

Varrick's strong tan hand grips my shoulder tightly, and he gives me a small shake. "You'll do fine, trust me."

"You really think I will?"

He nods this time, and then the hand on my other shoulder pulls me away from the thin man, instead causing me to face the round, familiar spectacled image of my father. His cheeks are rosy, and I remember then that he tends to blush when he's feeling happy at times. It was something he's always been hesitant about, especially when in front of the press. At the same time it reminds me of the caring, gentle father I used to know long ago who would stay up late at night just to read me a story, or who would engage in a long but more than fun lesson on how to build a satomobile. It's all thanks to him that now if someone asked me to, I could most likely take one apart and put it back together blindfolded. Maybe even with a few added features.

"We know you will. And if you need help, we'll be right there for you, whenever you need us," my father responds, and I nod, attempting to hold back a thankful cry that threatens to start the waterworks. I hold it back, and together the four of us all walk out of the hotel and into the powdery white drizzle of snow leisurely dancing it's way down to earth.

* * *

It's so unbelievable to me that I've got these middle-aged to old-timer geniuses and businessmen/businesswomen/entrepreneurs/inventors from various places around the globe listening so intensely. I guess it would help that I'm so passionate about engineering, and ever since I've been tinkering around the garage with my father (which has been basically since I learned to walk), I've been doing my best to come up with new ideas. Recently it's been a tad easier for me to do so, since I've had the chance to work with Varrick at StoneTech, but getting to share my thoughts with everyone else - getting feedback on how to improve, where we can institute such inventions, how things are going to work, who'd be interested in adding a contribution or aiding in production - it's all more than I imagined was possible.

But I don't care, it's all I've ever wanted, and I feel like I can go on and on about my dreams and visions to help improve society and build a better future.

The touch screen board expands my sketches, which are now a mere digital format, in order for me to gauge a few changes and point out some of the more important features of what I'd like to call smart streets. It's a simple name, I know… But if it ever was something that these other entrepreneurs found solid, could really revolutionize travel as we know it. It's the idea of streets moving instead of cars, and being able to be controlled by a person inside of an electrically powered 'vehicle'. This would allow them to move around and reach destinations (heck, you wouldn't even have to drive - if you wanted, you could program your travel vehicle to take you to any destination you so desired), without having to use gasoline, and the streets would simply move to your wishes. Well, at least the patch where your vehicle would be sitting on would move to wherever you wanted, if that makes sense.

Anywho…

A skinny man in the back raises his hand, and I barely notice his waving arm because I'm so absorbed into telling them about this new travel system. The reflection of the board's light bounces off of his large glasses, and I stop in my ranting.

"Question?"

He pushes up the large frames with a finger, before leaning closer to the table and reaching over for his glass of water, which he wraps his hand around. "When do you think such a travel system as this would become available, Miss Sato?"

"Well, it'll probably take a while because it'll involve quite a lot of money. It's the revolutionizing of transportation, and if we're getting rid of normal roads it would mean tearing down the old ones, along with constructing these new ones. In turn these would have to stretch from city to city, eventually across countries if we plan on making this a world-wide sort of institutionalization. Of course we'd be saving billions of dollars on oil, and as well improving the state of the environment and climate - I can't say for sure when everyone will be on board with this, but I thought it'd be an idea worth sharing," I finish, and the man nods in agreement.

My eyes flash to Varrick, who is sitting in the back next to my father. He tosses a wink my way, contrasting with the way my dad seems so poised and serious as of now. His fingers are interlaced together in front of his face, right below his eyes. It's his signature observatory position, and often I'd find him sitting quietly in such a manner as he mulled over some kind of idea in his office.

I haven't shared these ideas with anyone up until now, and quite frankly it's a bit relieving and also exhilarating to surprise everyone with all that's been floating around in my head for the past decade and a half.

"Simply astounding," Varrick murmurs to who I think is himself, although it's loud enough for me to hear from the other side of the room. "Why didn't I think of that myself?"

There's the faint sensation of heat spreading across my cheeks as I turn back toward the board, excited to jump back into my imagination; ideas that I hope will bring about a better tomorrow for everyone.

An hour later I throw a few of my material schematics into the thin bag that I have that double-functions as my purse for today, and set it aside on one of the cabinets in the back of the room, close to where my father and Varrick had been sitting. It doesn't surprise me that they are no longer there; everyone has been released for the time being for a much-needed lunch break. Although I hear that they're catering for us today, I think I'll step out for a few - get a little time alone, regain my nerves after having finally gone through with heading a meeting all by myself.

I see Varrick at the front of the room waving a hand around at Zhu Li, who's hastily typing away on her tablet, nodding all the while. He'll be speaking next, and then after him, my father. Today's meeting is solely StoneTech and Future Industries, since we're a partnership. This past week I've spent here has been an alteration of meetings led by different corporations, as I might have mentioned lightly before, and today it's our turn. I won't say that our turn was greatly anticipated, because it wasn't - it was more than that. People from all kinds of places and companies had been nagging the three of us (and even Zhu Li some, can you believe it?) about what we'd be sharing with everyone today, but then again it's more confidential than anything at the moment. For now, these ideas remain here in this building. After that, I'm sure some of what we've discussed with everyone will in turn leak out bit by bit. It always happens, so it's no biggie. As long as no one gets their hands on our blueprints or important documents like that, it'll all be fine.

My father's off to the side of the room, chatting with a few of the Japanese members of some very prestigious companies. One of them says something, and the only word I hear is 'tofu', but then all of them burst out laughing, and I shake my head. Who knows what in the world they're talking about. Whatever it is, I think I'll skip out on it for now.

I make my way towards my dad and gingerly touch his shoulder, somewhat startling him out of his laughter. His chuckling comes to a fragmented stop, although the wide grin stuck to his face never leaves his lips.

"Oh, Asami! Haha, there you are."

I almost choke as his strong, burly arm wraps around my shoulder, pulling me in close for at the max three seconds (although it feels much longer than that - probably because I want to get out of here for a little while). "H-Hey, dad," I smile weakly, and he lets me go, my lungs gratefully expanding to their maximum size.

"You did a wonderful job." His cheeks are rosy again, and something in my chest tightens at the sight of him genuinely proud of me for once, in what feels like the first time in forever. "Congratulations."

"Thank you." I take the chance to bow not only to my father out of gratitude, but also out of respect to the native speakers who are also world famous inventors and entrepreneurs. They in turn offer my father pleased smiles, as if to say that I'm a daughter with noticeably good manners. Which I'd like to think I am.

"Um," I tuck a long strand of hair behind my ear, the one strand that is always hanging loose, "I'm going to step outside for a little bit, alright dad? I promise I'll be back before Varrick starts, and I definitely won't miss the catering they're planning on bringing in." Yep, don't want to miss that.

"Sure. Be careful, alright?" he says more seriously than I thought was possible for stepping out into the hallway to get some fresh air, but I hold back my remark, instead settling for the obvious sentimentality surrounding his words. I know my father's trying his hardest to be more kind than before, an actual father. It's not something I should ridicule or poke fun at. Quite honestly, it's the only thing I've ever wanted from him, and I'm more than happy to see that he's trying to make it a reality for me.

"I will." Giving him a parting wave I weave through the rest of the small crowd, and exit quietly through the door, shutting it gently behind me.

I'm sure any normal person would want nothing more than to find a nice, comfy chair to plop themselves down into on such a winter day as this, and the warm atmosphere of the meeting room with all those bodies in such an enclosed space should have been something someone else would not have wanted leave. Along with the resounding laughter and exchanging of brilliant ideas and unique points, it certainly is the place for minds like mine on such a day as this.

Maybe it's me missing my hometown back in Washington, where it was always rainy and gloomy. Washington, where the sunlight hardly ever shown, and on the rare occasion that it did, only managed to spare a few hours at most it's blessed warmth. Maybe it's because of that I find myself desiring a bit of frigid winter.

The lonely clicking of my heels against the tile floor haunts me to some point, and I absently wander the hallways, searching for a piece of startling white sky above busy streets.

When I hear the honking of horns and the bustling of what can only be the city and its people, I follow the noise and turn a few corners, coming to a halt when I see a balcony on the other side of some large glass doors. Getting closer and closer I reach out, unsure if they'd open at my touch, or if they'd simply slide apart at the notion of my presence. The doors agree on the former, and I oblige by pushing them open just wide enough for me to squeeze through. The cold wind bites at my face, scaring away the warmth that had gathered as I heatedly discussed my ideas not too long ago.

It's kind of like all my anxiety and slightly worked-up nerves are being frozen, soothed into such a state that I feel no more pressure, no more need to be that businesswoman/inventor who barely started college a year ago. Believe it or not, it actually took quite a bit of convincing for my father to even let me go to college - I'd been homeschooled for the majority of my life, because I'm quite a few years ahead of most kids my age. College, for me, was a way to become normal. And I wanted that. I still do. And strangely at the same time, I want this - what I came to Japan with my father and Varrick for.

Is it possible for me to have them both? Or will I be forced to choose one or the other at some point in time?

I release a breath that crystallizes into a thick fog before my very eyes, wishing to let go of the subject and just relax for the short while that I'm out here. Who knows when I'll get to be alone next until we head back to our hotel and I retreat back to my snug room, where I'll probably plant myself on the couch for the remainder of the night and watch funny Japanese sitcoms that I hardly understand.

Luckily I brought along my cardigan, even though it's not as handy as that overcoat I had before, which I've inconveniently left in the meeting room, along with my other belongings. Oh well. I guess I should be fine with this if it's only for a few minutes.

Tugging the thin fabric of the sweater closer to my body I smile, and relax into the frigid air that I literally feel surrounding me like a blanket. A very large, very cold blanket that wraps around me without hesitation.

The soft crunch of snow beneath my feet lures me closer to the edge of the balcony, which I eagerly agree doing. Below me the city goes on by, just like it probably does every single day of the week, every single day of the year. Everywhere there's bright lights shining red and green specifically, along with dazzling silver and gold in certain areas of the metropolis that has escaped my mind within this cluttered yet exciting morning. I know Christmas isn't as widely celebrated in Japan as it is in the United States, but it's definitely on it's way to becoming a major holiday here as well, I hear. I'm glad they're warming up to the idea of exchanging presents and setting up tall, needled trees.

A soft vibrating tickles my side, and i blink, slightly dazed. I wonder who it could be? Maybe it's Korra. We've been talking more and more since the time that I left, and I know she's really trying to make it up to me by texting or calling me everyday, just to ask me how things are and how I'm doing. Although I'm happy and pleased with the thought, it makes me a bit sad that she told herself to hold back for so long, only to see that it was a mistake she would regret later on. Of course I'm not mad at her though, I understand her reasoning… I just wish she would have talked to me about it, when I was still there with her.

I pull out my cell from my cardigan's pocket, having almost completely forgotten I had placed it in there earlier, instead of in one of my overcoat's many pockets. Maybe I subconsciously knew that I would have taken the heavy layer off when we got to the meeting, and favorably would have worn this instead, something lighter and more breathable?

It's a phone call, but from a number I'm not sure I recognize. The location below it says 'Los Angeles, California', so I'm guessing it's probably someone I know from back there. Guess I'll have to just find out who by answering.

"Hello? This is Asami," I say, quick and precise, yet also with a hint of curiosity wedged in between the two.

"Asami!" The voice on the other end of the line sounds relieved. It's light and airy, like they're somewhat out of breath. Even so, it's a voice I think I recognize.

"Jinora? Is this you?"

There's a sigh of relief on the other side. "Yes, it's me. I've been trying to get a hold of you for a while, but I realized I didn't have your number. I had to find Opal and Bolin and ask them for it."

I turn away from the winter-adorned city scenery, my eyebrows furrowing together in confusion. "What do you mean you were trying to get a hold of me? Couldn't you have asked Korra for my number?"

There's a peculiar silence, as if Jinora's struggling to decide on saying something.

My heart jumps into my throat, and I can feel it's beating suddenly pulsing throughout my entire body.

"W-Where is Korra..?"

"I - I didn't know at first. We all didn't know. It -" there's a long inhale of breath, and I'm sure that dear little Jinora's trying to steel her nerves. "It turns out she left. She's in Alaska with Gran-Gran."

I remain silent for I'm not even sure how long.

It's only when Jinora starts asking if I'm still there that I shake my head, and a few snowflakes free themselves from the thick black waves that are my hair. "She's… She's in - _Alaska_?" I repeat, the words sounding foreign in my mouth. "She never told me she was going to Alaska…"

Jinora immediately jumps in, more hyped up than f've ever heard her before. I can 'see' the resemblance between her and Ikki now, in a way (although I dare not tell her that, ever), and she sounds almost mad. "RIGHT? She never said ANYTHING to ANY of us, and it frustrates me _soooo_ much - even almost as much as dad sometimes bothers me about things. I mean, she didn't even give us a single hint she'd be gone, or say that she was leaving with Gran-Gran… And GRAN-GRAN didn't even care to ask if I'd like to go to Alaska either, or say that she was taking Korra along with her -"

Aside from Jinora's uncharacterisical ranting, I'm confusingly blank-minded. It's like I can't quite comprehend what's happening. It's a strange feeling.

"Is - Is she okay?" Those are the only words I manage to get out, hanging limply there on the line as I imagine Jinora is thinking them over, probably asking herself if _she's_ alright, which I get the idea from her frustration she most clearly is not.

Jinora hesitates again. "Yeah, she's okay. I wasn't able to talk to her yet, I only recently found out about it from her parents because they called my dad up to talk to him. They were really worried when they woke up this morning and she was gone, not having told anyone where she went."

"And how did you guys know where she went?"

"Dad called up Gran-Gran to see if she knew, and I guess she told him. It bothers me though -"

"It bothers me too," I cut in. Really, it does. Korra didn't even bother telling me, and she said she'd promise to become better for the both of us.

An alien thought crosses my mind that maybe Korra _is_ working on becoming a better person; maybe this was just a way for her to go and do that? To go to Alaska. Just like how I came here, to Japan.

Maybe I shouldn't be bothered.

Maybe she's making the right choice.

I can give her that option at least, can't I?

"How are Opal and Bolin doing? And Mako and Wu? How are your family and her parents taking it?"

I think my sudden change in topic has temporarily stunned Jinora, who makes a sound as if she's about to say something but holds back for a moment, like she's contemplating my questions.

"Well, Bolin and Opal immediately called her up, and I guess she talked to them. They sounded kinda frustrated with her. I sat there the entire time they talked, but they never handed me the phone, so I couldn't speak to her." Jinora snorts. "I didn't really feel like it anyways, since she didn't bother to let me in on her little vacation plan."

The mental image of a jealous Jinora makes me smile, and I try to bite back the grin, thinking in my mind if Jinora only knew she'd look so cute all flustered she'd probably talk it off with a heavy blush on her face, turned the opposite direction for the majority of the encounter. Good thing she can't see me fighting back a grin.

"Mako and Wu are kinda doing their own little thing, I think maybe they could be secretly dating or something even though Mako denies it. I think Bolin told him about it, though."

I laugh at Jinora's little joke, but then revert back to my previous question. "And your family? How about her parents?"

"Ughh… My dad, he blew his top. Like, literally. His face got all red, and I could almost swear there was steam rising from his bald head. As for mom, she was kind of disappointed… Not so much as dad, but definitely more worried than anything. Ikki almost threw a fit when she found out she wasn't Gran-Gran's favorite grandchild, and Meelo went on a long walk with Kai to contemplate the meaning of life."

I smirk. "Oh, so Kai was around too, was he?"

"U-Uhm, he just happened to come by this morning, y'know since it's Christmas break and all…"

"Riiiiiiigggggghhhhhhht."

I can hear Jinora shuffle the phone uncomfortably on the other line. "K-Korra's parents are disappointed, I guess. We're all at her house right now, actually…" There's a small moment of silence, and I take it Jinora's examining her surroundings once again. "I think they're trying to get a hold of Korra, but it doesn't look like they're having any luck. Mr. Lihqtani looks almost the same as my dad when he found out Korra left without telling anyone. Mrs. Liqhtani's just sitting on the couch with my mom eating donuts. They're watching Disney channel, but they look pretty depressed."

I laugh, shaking my head as I mentally picture Korra's mom emptying a box of Krispy Kremes with Jinora's pregnant mother as they absentmindedly watch reruns of Good Luck Charlie or something similar.

"She'll be okay," I finally say after another good laugh.

"You - You think she will?"

"Yeah, she's my girlfriend. But more importantly she's Korra. She'll be fine." I look out again at the sparkling city, this time with a contented smile on my face. "I'll talk to her later, and tell you how she's doing if she replies, okay?" I know Korra won't ignore talking to me; I know she didn't mention going to Alaska for her own reasons, but I won't pry if it's something she thinks should be kept private. If anything, I should be guilty of the same charge - I didn't tell her I was going anywhere either until a week before I was leaving.

"Promise?" Jinora sounds lonely, left out.

"I promise," there's a smile to my voice that I never thought possible, but yet there it is. I hope Jinora can see it just as clearly as I can picture it.

"Okay," she says, sounding much more calm and collected than before, when I first answered the phone. She sounds like the Jinora I know. "Talk to you later?"

"Yes, today for sure. Take care, alright? And don't beat yourself up over anything."

Jinora giggles a bit, and I hear Naga bark somewhere in the background, along with the familiar squeals of which can only belong to Ikki. I'm guessing Meelo is still out on his life-changing walk with Kai. "Okay Asami. Bye."

"Bye."

I sigh, tucking the phone back into it's proper place along the side of my body, hidden from the cold once again. Glancing down at my hands I notice that my fingertips are turning red, and are starting to tingle slightly. I shiver and wrap my arms around my chest, thinking it about time I head back to the meeting.

Oh Korra.

I chuckle again at the thought of Korra off in the Alaskan wilderness, a native Californian who enjoys dressing as lightly as possible in one of the coldest places in the United States, and maybe even possibly one of the coldest places on Earth.

Let's just hope she brought more than muscles tees and jean shorts.

* * *

 **thanks to all of you who're still here, especially to those of you who review! i really enjoy getting feedback. also i'm hoping to do a few more chapters, probably five at the max - so yeah, we're coming to a close with the story. D: i want to crank these ones out faster though (if life will allow lol), and get this done by the end of the year if i can, so yeah haha.**

 **thanks again guys, and i hope to see y'all sooner the next time around. :D**


	33. Chapter 33

**i know apologizing won't do much, so i'll just leave this chapter here and let you guys read the rest of what i've gotta say at the end...**

* * *

 **They're Actually Kinda Cool**

I stick my phone back in the pocket of my jeans and sigh.

"What'd she say?" Katara looks up from her book. She's perched on the couch with her legs tucked beneath her and a dark blue snuggie wrapped around her thin frame. I swear on her it looks like a oversized parka, but she doesn't care. She refused to leave it at home. Which was smart, it's friggin' cold here. Like it feels like I'm permanently stuck in a meat freezer.

Don't ask how I know what that feels like.

"Uh, well, she said that she thinks I should have told her about coming over here, but that it's alright. She just wants me to be safe." I fall back down into the mattress behind me. Katara and I are staying in a hotel for the night, apparently we're going to be meeting my relatives and spending some time with them. Uncle Unalaq and my cousins Eska and Desna? Apparently my uncle offered Katara and I a place to stay over where he lives, but she turned down the offer. Don't know if she had a reason why.

Glancing at my phone again I see all the missed calls I didn't get back to until recently.. There's a few earlier from Opal and Bolin, and a couple from Mako, which I've gotten to. The ones from my parents I've (sorry guys) left until I finally got to Alaska with Katara. I guess it would make sense though, since you don't really have service thousands of feet up in air over the middle of the Pacific ocean.

I won't lie when I say the longest call I made was the one to my parents. I guess any mom and dad in their right mind would go ballistic if their kid just up and went to Alaska with their grandma in the middle of the night a few days before Christmas.

Wondering if they're still thinking about getting me that Hoverboard Scooter I wanted earlier this year. Maybe they've changed their minds about it now that I've ditched them.

"I'm going to go take a shower." I slowly get up from my spot on the bed, somewhat forcing myself to do so. Katara and I have the heater on full-blast, but it's not really making any difference. It's so cold I'm sure taking a shower is just going to worsen things, but heck I can't go without bathing, haha. Might as well just get it out of the way, I'm going to have to start getting used to this since I'm going to be here for a while.

The shower I attempt to finish as quickly as I can, and do the same for dressing. So far I've got on my underwear (a sports bra and pair of boy shorts), along with knee-high socks and a pair of woolen pajamas, which are light blue and decorated with pictures of penguins. The sleepwear was a gift from Katara a few years back, and I don't really get the chance to wear them back home (since it's usually not that cold) so I thought it'd be helpful if I brought them along over here. Hopefully it'll be enough for the night.

I tussle my short hair with a towel as I walk out of the steamy bathroom, warm fog billowing out in small trails as I retreat back to my bed.

I assume Katara watches me as I do so because a small chuckle resounds from the area over by the tv, and she says something that I think is to herself but also meant for me to have heard. "Finally wearing those pajamas I got you a while ago, I see."

Pulling the comforter over my head and snuggling deeper into the blankets I find a nice spot that I think I can get used to. I'm refusing to leave it until tomorrow morning. Good thing I brushed my teeth and all that before I came back over here. "Mhm. So what?"

Obviously Katara hears my response, which I admit does sound a little careless.

"No reason. Just happy to see they came in handy."

I can sense the smug little smile in Katara's raspy sounding voice, something familiar and soothing to my ears. Against the wind blowing harshly outside my window, just on the other side of this wall, and the lulling roar of the heaters turned onto the highest level, I close my eyes and slowly fall asleep once again.

* * *

Today it's stopped snowing.

Okay, well maybe that isn't the correct way to phrase it. Cause obviously I've never been to a place where it's snowed heap tons before. I'm not even sure if it was snowing at all last night; after crawling into bed post-shower I refused to get out. Plus I feel asleep so it's not like I could have gotten out of bed anyways, unless I sleepwalked or something.

Which I don't.

Anyways… Maybe a better, more accurate way to put this, is that the mild blizzard that was taking place last night has come to a nice stop.

Things are beautiful and white, almost blinding. But it's radiant, and it's more dazzling than anything I could have imagined.

This morning Katara and I decided to head into town.

It isn't very big. The town. It's a decent size, with a local middle school and high school and such. You've got your everyday grocery stores, a few local shops and the little things that every decent, small, but prosperous town needs. Maybe it'd be best to classify this place as a small city.

It owns a name that I can't quite pronounce, even though I am basically of the same origin. Luckily for us though this place isn't enveloped by darkness despite it being winter and all. Would have been kind of depressing.

Katara and I have been roaming the city for the last hour or so, after enjoying one of those nice continental breakfasts at the hotel.

I fish out a mini muffin from my coat's pocket and begin munching on it.

"Did you really take mini muffins and stuff them in your pockets?" Katara asks with a raised brow. She looks kind of surprised, but at the same time also knowing, like she understands it's something dumb that only I would do. There are only two people I take that look from without making a kind of smarmy smart-ass remark when it comes to silent judging; my mom and Katara.

"Couldn't help it, I was hungry." The little blueberry muffin in my hand seems to smile back at me (cause heck, it really looks like it has little eyes and a little mouth and everything with those blueberries…) and I shrug before stuffing the rest into my mouth. Quickly I protrude another from my pocket, this time a double chocolate chip one, and giggle, spitting a few crumbs in the process.

"You always are," Katara chuckles, shaking her gray head.

She wraps an arms around my shoulders to guide me down the side of the almost empty road, which is covered by a generous dusting of snow, and we continue on our way to our destination.

The air is chilly, but Katara's old, aged body beside mine delivers a sort of warmth I can't derive from anything else. It is just like everything else about Katara - strong, selfless, and loving.

We walk into a neighborhood maybe a few miles from the hotel the two of us are staying at; really, this whole city isn't very large. I could maybe walk across the whole city in a matter of a couple of hours. Not that I'd do that, but just to give you an idea.

A large house looms into view. It's painted a regrettable shade of dark brown, and it's really big - really tall. Like most homes and buildings here in Alaska, it has a slanting, inclined roof to prevent snow from settling on top and crashing in from above. Even so it makes the whole place look a lot more intimidating, although a stupid thought nags at me to smuggle in a voiced opinion that the home looks like a giant turd.

I refrain from doing so but can't keep my mind from cackling in secret. Katara would have given me a good slap on the back of my head, which I wouldn't have liked much.

The house looms closer and closer as Katara and I walk up the driveway, and I desperately search my pockets for a spare mini muffin.

Nothing.

Dammit… Ate all of them, I guess.

I tug my beanie closer over my head as Katara loops her hand through the crook of my own, and latches onto my sweatshirted and jacketed elbow (I had to wear both, it's too friggin' cold here to go with only one simple layer!).

A little bit of snow has settled on the doorstep. It crunches some beneath our feet as we shuffle uncomfortably for a few moments.

"Wanna press the doorbell?"

I gulp. "No… You wanna press the doorbell?"

"I'll give you five bucks."

"Make it ten."

*Seven."

Stepping forward precariously I zoom in on the little black button positioned on the right side of the doorway. Squeezing my eyes shut I give it something you might label as a smack, but it worked, so I don't really care.

I get back into line beside Katara and the two of us wait with baited breath at the entrance.

There is silence.

For a really long time.

I lean in down towards Katara to whisper into her ear. "Hey… Are you sure they're here? Maybe we should just come back later."

Katara doesn't remove her eyes from the door either. "He told me that he wanted us to come visit today…"

A small click disrupts our discussion, and slowly the door begins opening - but only a teensy bit.

A single eye, blue as the California sky, gleams back at the two of us, hidden slightly by a veil of dark brown bangs.

"These are the relatives father was speaking of yesterday, are they not Desna?"

Whoever's voice it is, it's monotonous and female.

"Perhaps," another voice replies, and suddenly a second eye shows itself below the first one, causing Katara and I to jump slightly.

Okay, it was mostly just me jumping.

Literally a second later the door swings open and this time Katara and I both stumble back a few feet with the sudden motion. Before us stands a tall thin man, and the facial features of his - like his strong jaw line and piercing blue eyes - immediately tell me that this man is my uncle.

And the two weirdos behind him are probaby my cousins.

"Katara, Korra!"

The two of us are wrapped in lean arms and pulled together into a tight hug for a few short moments before we're let go to breathe.

"It's so good to see you both." My long-lost uncle fixes me with a suspicious kind of stare which I'm sure was meant to be warm and cultured (even though it kind of did come off as a bit creepy). "Especially you, Korra. Your cousins and I have been looking forward to meeting you. It didn't seem like a possibility after your father moved to California, but ever since Katara said she was coming to visit and was bringing you along, we definitely didn't want to skip our chance."

My uncle nods back to his extremely silent offspring. "Isn't that right kids?"

My eyes meet the girl's and I shudder. Although I try to suppress it.

"Right father," her voice is colder than the wind biting at my cheeks, and I shiver again.

It seems as though my uncle notices my discomfort, and we're invited inside. Where it's surprisingly warm. Judging by these freezing cold glares I'm receiving from my two cousins I would think they prefer living in below zero temperatures.

"Sorry if I haven't introduced myself," my uncle says as he takes Katara's coat. I reluctantly shed one myself and hand it to him, as I figure he's talking to me. "You haven't met me yet Korra. My name is Unalaq."

Katara nonchalantly turns toward me and gives me a small nudge with her elbow, and I take that as the cue to say something familial, although I was already told my uncle's name. "Um, okay - Uncle Unalaq," I say, rubbing the back of my neck awkwardly. Out of the corner of my eye I see my cousins giggle.

I feel like punching the wall, but I don't.

Uncle Unalaq notices and grunts, and the two quickly shut up.

"Well, perhaps we can catch up on what's been happening over there where you live, Katara?" My uncle straightens his navy blue sweater and pockets his hands in his khakis. "I would like to hear about how my brother is doing. And how your family is down as well."

For some reason I get the feeling Unalaq kind of just really wants to know about what's happening with my dad, judging by the awkwardness in his voice. I mean, he could just ask me, but I get it if maybe that would be a little too straightforward.

Then again, we are family, aren't we?

Why would things be awkward? They shouldn't.

"If you would like, I think it'd be nice to see how things are going over here too," Katara smiles back all-too-cheerfully and I kind of want to rub that cute little smirk off her face, but it's too late because she's already following Uncle Unalaq in the direction of the kitchen as he announces he'll be making hot cocoa for everyone.

I'm stuck in the doorway with the goth twins.

Insert audible gulp noise.

"Um, so I'm Korra," my lips are moving on their own, and if I say something stupid then I'm going to slap myself, "but you probably already knew that."

They just look at me.

God they could be freakin' clones of each other. It's so creepy that they basically look exactly the same.

"We did know that," the boy finally says. Turning his head at me somewhat cockily a sly grin stretches his lips. "I am Desna. And this is my sister Eska," he motions to the girl beside him.

"Nice to finally meet you guys," I hold out my hand, but neither of them makes any effort to take it. It slowly slinks back defeatedly to my side.

The polished wooden floor suddenly seems excruciatingly interesting to the point where I want to stare at it until Katara and I leave this god-forbidden place.

Whose idea was it to come visit these guys again?

Oh yeah, it was you Katara. Way to go.

Eska takes a step forward and I almost stumble backward like a doofus yet again.

"Would you like to come to our room?"

What. The. Junk.

"Ummmmmmmmmm-"

"I will take that as a yes," Eska replies without my consent and turns on her heel, her brother by her side.

Eska and Desna begin trotting up the stairs at a rather speedy pace, and when I don't make any attempt to move she halts on the top step and gives me the evil eye.

"Well, are you coming or not?"

Again my body functions without thought and timidly I begin inching forward. Thoughts of Unalaq and Katara leisurely enjoying hot cocoa in the kitchen plague my empty mind.

Katara, if I don't come back please know that you are the best granny that anyone could ever have. I will miss you dearly.

May I rest pieces - I mean, peace.

Oh yeah, and Asami please know that I love you dearly and would have preferred to die by your side if I wasn't in this situation-

"Here we are." Desna lays a hand on the front of the door and gives it a gentle push, and it swings open slowly with a drawn out spine-tingling creak.

Apparently I'm closing my eyes because Eska purposely bumps into me as she makes her way into their room, and this time I really do stumble forward but in fear of falling I open my eyes.

A small gasp escapes me. Or maybe more a sigh of relief.

Whatever it is, it's there because I was literally panicking at the thought of these being my last few moments before I'm tossed into the iron maiden that's actually their closet, but no…

Their room actually looks - normal - despite the vibe I'm getting from these two. Like I literally thought that I'd be seeing some voodoo dolls lying around or a picture of me in the corner with kitchen knives decorating my face.

Okay, the last one was an exaggeration.

But honestly, this isn't what I was expecting.

To my left there's a large king-sized bed (apparently they share? God, this keeps getting weirder and weirder) and on the right side there's a large plasma screen tv plastered onto the wall. A variety of videogames sit patiently on the bookcase directly beneath it. And I can't forget to mention the small assortment of consoles on top of said bookcase, along with a desk at the end of the room with two hi-rez looking Apple computers.

Maybe this is why the two of them seem so… antisocial.

It would explain things.

"Uh - nice room," I nod at the layout around me and cautiously take a few more steps deeper into my cousins' lair. "You guys like videogames?" I ask them, plopping down into a black beanbag lying on the floor.

"Eska is ranked notoriously high in almost every game you can think of." Desna takes a seat on the edge of the bed, and Eska stands beside him, smirking. "I am a few placements below her, but still. We're both very good at what we do."

"Dang. That's actually pretty cool." Wait - did I say that out loud?

I blink. Yep, I think I did.

Whatever. Seeing Eska and Desna's perpetually tight lipped frowns turn upward the slightest, it makes me feel like it wasn't a mistake saying what I did.

I decide to share a bit about myself. "I play videogames sometimes - not too good at anything, but I just play to have fun. You know?" I shrug and try chuckling, but they don't seem to relate. Figures.

"Um - I swim. I'm actually really good at swimming. And I, uh, I've been in a few commercials?" I try although I know I sound absolutely hilarious. Like if I wasn't myself I'd probably burst out laughing. And then get thrown out of the room.

"So what do you guys do around here? I mean, it's snowing all the time, isn't it? Or it's just really cold, at least." My eyes flash back to the tv and consoles before me, and my mouth forms a little 'o'.

That question doesn't really need answering, I guess.

I furrow my eyebrows together. "Don't you guys ever go outside? Doesn't it get tiring being cooped up here all the time?" Man, now I'm kind of starting to feel sorry for them.

Eska walks toward the window and crosses her arms. The black of her already three sizes too big sweatshirt wraps around her, making her looks smaller than she really is. "Sometimes it does." The sadness in her voice is almost tangible, there, just sitting on the edge - "I remember there were days when we did used to go outside. Explore. Get into trouble."

"You mean you don't anymore?"

"Not really," Desna says for his sister, who doesn't bother to turn around yet.

"Father used to tell us stories. Things that would actually want to make us do something different for a change." Eska sighs, and along with it a small portion of my heart seems to sink.

She emotionlessly makes her way over to one of the swivel chairs tucked into the front of the desk and allows herself to fall into it. The force of her motion causes her to turn slowly around in a circle, and my cousin lets her foot fall to the ground when she stops to face Desna and I.

"...What kind of stories?" I question carefully, hoping it's not a touchy subject. I always try to be gentle with these kinds of things; like with Bolin and Mako. When we were younger sometimes it would be hard for them to tell me about things from their childhood.

Eska's frown turns up once again into the smallest, most fragile smile I have seen for quite some time. "Stories about the earth, the sky and the sea... About good and evil. About our heritage; pieces of our past and culture."

"My favorite was the story about Raava," Desna chips in. He sounds kind of excited, and when I turn my head from my position on the beanbag to glance at him I can see he too is smiling. Even it it might be considered the smallest smile in the world. "It was your favorite too, wasn't it Eska?"

Eska chuckles, gripping the bottom of the swivel seat with her small hands. "It was."

I find myself smiling at nothing really, just happy that the two of them seem a bit more lighthearted than they were a few minutes ago. Picking up a Pachimari plush from on top of the bookcase I squeeze it in my hands and gaze out the window, noticing that snow has begun to fall.

"Would you like us to tell you the story?"

The plush falls out of my hands, and I fumble for it, but nevertheless it hits the floor and I wince.

"Uh, you - you want to share the story with me?"

Eska and Desna both stare at me inquiringly, twin pairs of exactly identical lightning blue eyes boring into the depths of my soul.

"Of course. Why not?" Desna purrs from his position on the bed before letting himself fall back down onto it. He flicks a hand in the air and it points in Eska's direction. "Eska, you tell it. You were always the better storyteller."

His sister rolls her eyes and breathes out a faint chuckle. "Better at lying/storytelling, you mean."

"That is exactly what I meant."

I laugh, and Eska smiles at me.

"Well… At the beginning of the universe, at the beginning of the creation of the world - there were two forces. One of good and one of evil. The good one was called Raava, and people loved her. The evil one was known as Vaatu, and the two were constantly fighting against each other. It's just the way things were. They could not live by themselves; they would always coexist. They were there since the beginning, and will remain there until the end.

"Humans just as well lived and coexisted with the spirits. There was one particular time when Vaatu and Raava were fighting, and things were looking bleak for the spirit of darkness. A human named Wan came along and saw the two of them, and because at this point in time Vaatu was weak, it appeared as though Raava was winning. He cried out to the human and asked for his help in escaping Raava, and the human eagerly attended to his aid.

"Raava, being the spirit she is did not want to hurt the human, and because of this Vaatu was able to escape. After the spirit of darkness had taken flight Raava confronted the human and told him that he had helped free the evil spirit, much to the human's dismay. Wan was horrified, and because of his mistake he vowed that he would help Raava find Vaatu. It would be his purpose, and he'd help her find him and put him to rest until he grew strong enough again to fight against Raava like they had always done.

"Raava was somewhat reluctant at first, but later agreed. The two formed a partnership - Wan, among his people, was called the 'Avatar', for he housed Raava's spirit and contained her light within him. The two remained together for many years, scouring the world for Vaatu. It wasn't until a few years later that they found him once again, somewhere here in this region. It was said to be a place where the light touched the earth, because it is there that spirits gather. Vaatu had been spending his time alone growing stronger as he fed off of sorrow and despair, war and famine over other areas of the world.

"The spirit of light was worried - Vaatu seemed much stronger than she, and when she separated from Wan to fight him, she was really struggling. Wan was pleading with her to use him, to have him help her in some way, shape or form… He wasn't quite sure what she could do, but he couldn't bear to see his friend get destroyed. Because Raava was becoming weaker by the second she decided to listen to Wan, and through her spirit powers she used him to -"

"Bend the elements, and together they defeated Vaatu. They sealed him away in an old tree, where supposedly he resides today," Desna interrupts with more enthusiasm than I thought was possible for him. Crossing his arms he grins, and places his chin on the back of his hands.

"And after that, Raava knew that humans were capable of much more than they appeared to be. It is said that Raava lives inside of every one of us, and she's the one who helps guide us in making the right decisions and doing the right things," Eska finishes, and crosses her arms over her chest again. "I like to think that Raava is always with us. It's just - nice."

"Eska and I would go in search of the tree," Desna mumbles from the bed, and I look over at him. The Pachimari plush rolls around in my palms as I juggle it slightly back and forth. "We'd always be out there in the cold when we were younger, just exploring. Looking for Vaatu. Hoping that with Raava inside of us we'd be able to defeat him."

I raise an eyebrow. "Isn't he locked away though? I mean, he's not loose or anything, so it's not like you'd have to defeat him again. Right?"

"Well, if he happened to somehow get loose and escape, then Eska and I would be there to stop him," Desna smiles, and I smile back.

I tuck my knees closer to my chest and feel the warmth of them seep into my sweatshirt. "I really like that story."

* * *

"Dammit! No, I had that guy!" I shout, slightly infuriated yet at the same time really excited.

"You narrowly missed him Korra," Eska chuckles. She leans into me as she jerks her PS4 controller to the side, kind of disrupting me, but I dare not make any comments because I know if she wanted to she could take me one-on-one in this game and totally kick my butt. I'm lucky enough to have her on my team, honestly. Like she's literally annihilating everyone.

Yeet, that's my cousin Eska.

I watch her out of the corner of my eye and crack a sly grin, she looks so concentrated right now. It's basically the same face she's always wearing, but there's a sort of intensity to it that I've only recently discovered within these past thirty minutes.

Desna watches the two of us from his spot on the bed, he actually hasn't moved.

Like, none at all since Eska was telling that Raava story.

"Hey, um, I was thinking…" Dammit dammit dammit dammit I literally was pressing R2 that entire time and I still-

"Mhm?" Eska hums, her shining blue eyes still incredibly focused on the screen before us.

"Maybe we could um, how do I say this-"

"Yeah?" Desna throws the Pachimari plush between Eska and I and I jump, sending off a random rocket from my character on screen careening with a building nearby instead of that really annoying enemy guy literally prancing right in front of my eyes.

Thanks a lot buddy.

Eska takes him out with a headshot.

The enemy guy I mean, not Desna (hahaha).

"Go looking for Vaatu? You guys wanna go exploring?" I say before I can stop myself. It's a really stupid idea, I know, but it sounds so fun at the same time.

The tv screen turns blue, and I'm surprised we're back at the home screen.

"The game-" I'm about to start, but Eska stands up and lets her PS4 remote dangle loosely from her hands.

I decide not to say anything else.

I also hope I didn't offend her or anything in any sort of way.

Eska fixes me with a stare almost the same as to what she was using when we were playing during the game, but there's a mischievous glint in them. Although I would honestly never approach this girl in any situation unless it was absolutely necessary, the sparkle in her eyes makes her slightly more - how should I put it?

Not as evil-looking, that's it.

"That's the best idea I've heard this whole year."

She tosses the controller down into her own beanbag and heads to the closet, where she pulls out a thick, dark blue Metal Mulisha jacket. She tosses a similar one Desna's way, this one an army green, and then begins digging at the bottom for what I'm guessing would be shoes.

Hesitantly I get up from my seat and Desna looks at me with a matching expression of confusion on his face.

"Sooo that's a yes..?"

Eska pulls herself out of the closet with two pairs of knee-high black boots, and somehow manages to toss a freakin' heavy backpack straight at my chest.

I catch it but also stumble backwards a few feet, barely missing my chance to trip and land back in the beanbag.

"Yes. But we'll need that if we want to do some proper exploring."

"Take these," Eska throws one of the pair of boots Desna's way and they whack him in the head.

"Wow… Thanks." He rubs the side of his head as he sits up, and I can't help but let a small chuckle escape. "If there's one thing you should know about Eska," he says to me as his sister wanders around the room and begins digging through drawers, tossing various things into the middle of the room or onto the bed, sometimes hitting Desna, "is that when she wants to do something, she never does it halfway."

Something hits the side of my head and falls to the floor, and I look down.

It looks like a stick of dynamite.

I push it away carefully with my foot. "Ummmmm what's that?" I ask Desna. "Is that dynamite?" I shake my head. "Nevermind, don't answer that - how the heck'd you get something like that?"

"You don't want to know."

O-kay then.

* * *

 **i know you guys aren't here to listen to me babble about my personal life, haha. but i'd really like to say sorry for not updating in the longest time, and to let everyone know i haven't dropped this story. i will continue working on it, don't you worry.**

 **thank you everyone for the favs and follows, and for the reviews! it's been so long since i've uploaded, thank you for all your support and i hope you enjoyed this chapter. we're in the home stretch! :)**


	34. Chapter 34

**i think this might be the longest (or one of the longest) chapters this entire story... whatevs, it's worth it. jinora pov for you babes.**

* * *

 **On Our Way**

I'm still frustrated.

With Gran-Gran _and_ with Korra.

Something bumps me gently in my side, softly startling me from my unnaturally depressing thoughts.

"You alright?" Kai asks. There's a concerned tone to his voice, and I shake my head. You have no idea how much I'd like to lie, say that I'm fine - but I can't bring myself to do something like that, not to him.

"No, not really." There it is. Flat and heavy, a comment that is true and straightforward. If only people could be more like that, instead of hiding things until the very last minute. Like a certain couple of people on my mind right now.

I shuffle myself slightly away from him on the couch and fold my arms across my chest, my eyes fixed on the Christmas tree sitting in the corner of the living room. Meelo and Ikki are seated on the floor, watching television with the most boring looks I've ever seen on their young faces. At least I'm not the only one who's feeling left dejected.

Out of the corner of my eye I notice Kai about to reach out, most likely to touch my arm, but he stops himself from doing so.

There's a knock on the door and Meelo turns his little bald head in the direction of the noise. Ikki decides to roll over to the door instead of walk, and sits cross legged before it, almost as if she may be expecting it to open itself.

Two pairs of familiar green eyes show themselves in the window, and I huff.

The guy in the window frowns, but I don't do anything to make any attempt to let him or his girlfriend in.

Kai opens the door, and the two who I really don't feel like talking to right now come into my house. Or actually to be more realistic, I don't feel like talking to anyone right now.

"Jin," Bolin takes a seat beside me, and I instantly feel the couch sink beneath his bulky body.

And this time a hand does find it's way to my shoulder. I don't bother to shrug it off, I figure it'd be kind of rude. So I just keep staring at the Christmas tree.

"We know you're hurt by Korra and Katara leaving…" he pauses, probably taking a moment to look at Opal. "We all feel the same way. So… So don't feel so letdown, okay? It'll be fine. They'll come back."

Now I twist away, somewhat harshly, from Bolin's grasp, in order to face him properly and give him an incredulous look. "What are you saying? It's not okay! They - both of them! They left me. They left _you_! They left all of us, and it hurts… I - I wish I knew why they did it, why they didn't tell me anything. I thought they cared… I guess I was wrong." There's tears prickling at the corners of my eyes, aching to be released. I don't stop the ones that begin to trail down my cheek.

"Jinora…"

Opal rushes up to me and quickly envelops me in a tight hug.

Unaware that I am now standing (most likely because of the little temper tantrum I threw a few seconds prior) I slowly wrap my arms around the older girl holding me, wishing she were my friend Korra. Wishing she was my grandmother who was holding me.

But it's Opal, and she's the one here. She's the one who's supporting me, and I guess I'll have to make due.

I feel Bolin stand up too, and suddenly I'm squished in a very warm, comforting kind of sandwich hug. Slender fingers run through my hair and I grasp Opal's shirt tighter, allowing myself to cry harder, for the tears to fall faster.

To let everything go, all my anger and fear and pain. All the hurt I've bottled up within these past couple of days.

"I-I'm sorry…" I sniffle out, not the least bit nervous that I've broken down in front of some of my closest friends and my younger siblings. "I-I'm just…"

"Shhhhh…" Opal pats my head, and I stop talking. "It's alright. We know. You've been hurt. It's okay to cry."

Slowly I begin to open up my eyes again, and although my sight is a bit blurry I can see Kai standing a little awkwardly behind Opal, close to the doorway. The place where he was when he first let them in. Meelo and Ikki are beside him, sad little smiles on their faces.

I try cracking a grin in return and pull away from Opal to wipe my eyes with the sleeve of my jacket. "Um… Uh, thanks," I manage to croak, my voice a bit hoarse. I'm kind of surprised it's my own; it sounds so different.

"It's alright, Jin," Bolin pats my shoulder, and I smile up at him.

"How come Jinora gets hugs and we don't?" Meelo barks, and immediately the sentimental atmosphere is shattered by his obnoxious curiosity.

"I want a hug too!" Ikki bounces over to the three of us and throws herself at Bolin's leg until she latches onto his chest, and he laughs. Meelo on the other hand is enjoying some attention from Opal, and I once again feel secluded, but not in a bad way. Just more like I'm the weird older daughter of two loving parents who like to dote on their two younger children more than anything in the world.

I meet Kai's nervous green eyes again and give him a small grin, which I am glad to see returned with more fervor than mine.

' _Sorry_ ' I mouth to him over Ikki's and Meelo's cackling, and he just shrugs and cocks his head, allowing that completely adorable brown mop of his to fall to the side and brush over his dark lashes.

"Yo Jin," Bolin falls back down onto the couch with Ikki still glued to his chest, but at this point he's just acting like she's a part of his own body. "If you want to go visit Korra and Katara so badly, maybe me and Opal can help you out there."

My eyebrows shoot up a good inch. "What do you mean?"

"We were kind of considering this before we came over to visit…" Opal smiles nervously as she bites her lip, glancing between her and Bolin every now and then. "Bo and I kind of, um…"

"You're getting married?!" Ikki practically leaps from her nesting place on Bolin to pounce onto an unaware Opal, and Korra's friend staggers back a few feet with the added weight. Dang, she didn't even fall over - all that swimming must have really paid off.

"You're having a baby?!" Meelo interjects, and I feel like face-palming. Way to ruin the moment again, you guys.

"Haha, um, no not that…" Opal giggles. It's easy to tell she's a bit disconcerted with the two little trolls hanging onto her. It's a little bit hard for her to try and meet my eyes again over the two bobbing heads blocking her vision. "We thought that maybe we could help you get to Alaska, if that's what you really want to do. Bolin and I kind of would like to go too, we really miss Korra just as much as you do."

"And how are you guys going to do that?" It's Kai. He moves from his spot by the door to stand by my side, and the warmth of his body soothes my rattled nerves a little.

"Hello? Kind-of movie star, remember?" Bolin waves his hand at my friend and I, and then everything clicks.

"Varrick!" I say out loud, now that it all makes sense.

Then I frown again. "He's not here though. He's in Japan with Asami."

"Weeeeelllll," Bolin drawls, looking a bit sheepish. "Opal and I still have access to go to StoneTech whenever we want. You know, to visit and things. I'm sure Varrick wouldn't mind if we maybe did a little bit more than visiting."

Meelo lets himself fall off of Opal's shoulder and drops to the ground with a small 'thud'. Placing his hand on his hip he gives both Opal and Bolin an inquiring stare, but it probably comes off more like he's trying to pry into their souls. "Are you saying we're going to steal a private jet or something?"

"This kid is smart," Bolin points at my little brother, and Meelo grins.

"Won't you guys get in trouble?" Ikki asks, and then gasps as she places a hand over her mouth, using the other to secure her hold on Opal. "What happens if you guys get FIRED? What happens if you guys get kicked out of StoneTech, never to be seen or heard from again? What happens if you guys get sent to Area 51-"

"No one's getting sent to Area 51," Opal interjects.

"You don't know that," Bolin shoots back, and his girlfriend shoots him a deadly glare. "Or maybe you do…"

Opal places Ikki down on the carpet and stands proudly before us. "So it's settled then. We're going to bust into StoneTech and take a private jet or plane or whatever kind of thing they have available, and we're going to go see Korra and your grandma."

"It's not technically breaking in if you guys are allowed there," I say, allowing my old quick-witted self to resurface from the pit of my depression.

"Pfffft," Opal waves a hand in my direction. "You know what I mean, girlie."

Taking a seat beside Bolin on the couch I pat the spot next to me, gesturing for either Kai or Opal to sit down. Kai eagerly takes the offer, and Opal remains before us with her two little minions clinging onto either of her legs. She doesn't look very disturbed though, still rather proud of her announcement to procure a means of transportation from StoneTech in order to get to Alaska.

"Would you care to explain the plan? I want to make sure things are going to work if we're going to go find Korra and Gran-Gran," I tell her sternly, crossing my arms again, only this time I'm hoping it comes across as serious.

"First thing - are your parents home?" Opal whispers as she looks around the living room conspicuously.

"It would be a little late to ask that," I sigh. "But no, they're not home. They went to Korra's house to talk to her parents about this whole thing."

I can almost see devil horns sprout out from the front of Opal's head. "Perfect," she purrs. "Alright then! The plan. What's the plan again? Oh yeah -" she remembers, right when Bolin looks like he is about to add something, or perhaps remind her of the plan. "We'll pack our stuff first. Bolin and I actually have some stuff in my car, so really it'd only be you guys. But after that we'll all drive over to StoneTech, and say we're giving you guys a tour or something. Then we'll find the place where they keep the jets and things and we'll get in one, and voila! We're off," Opal finishes, puffing out her chest in the process.

I shake my head. "Do you even know how to get to Alaska? Do you even know how to drive a plane or a jet?"

Opal seems to shrivel. "Uhhhh I didn't really think about that…"

"No worries!" Bolin declares, smoothing back his hair. He winks at me. "I'm sure I can get us there safely, little miss."

"This sounds really stupid, but I appreciate the thought," I'm about to stand up, but then I feel a hand on my arm.

Kai looks at me intensely, eyes pleading with me to accept what hope was graciously set before us to lighten up our lives.

Or so it kind of feels that way.

"You're blushing," Opal points out, and I jerk my head in her direction to pout.

"Shut up! I-I'm not - It's just kind of warm in here…"

Things are silent, and I figure everyone is waiting for me to say the final word. I'm sure Kai is still looking at me with those big green, super cute puppydog eyes of his…"Urgh, fine…" I relent, and the whole room basically bursts out in cheery celebration.

* * *

My siblings and I manage to pack our things in record time. Opal and Bolin said that we couldn't bring too much, since it'd probably look like we were going on vacation if we each brought two suitcases and a person-sized plush, so Ikki and Meelo and I had to narrow down our luggage to a small dufflebag or backpack.

I'm not even entirely sure how long we're going to be in Alaska, but I'm sure if Gran-Gran's over there, she can buy me some more clothes if I need them. Comes with the perks of being a grandchild.

Perhaps not the favorite grandchild, but a grandchild.

While Meelo and Ikki and I were packing, Opal stayed behind while Bolin drove Kai to his house (which isn't very far from ours, surprisingly. It's actually kind of nice, because he comes over sometimes - most of the time when my parents aren't home, like right now) so that he could pack a few of his own things.

By the time they got back we were done, so Opal and Bo quickly tossed our stuff into the trunk.

About to get into the backseat with my two siblings and crush, I stop in my tracks and run back toward the house. "I forgot something!" I call over my shoulder, and out of the corner of my eye I can see Bolin raise up his arms in exasperation. Sorry bud, but this is important.

As fast as I can I scramble through one of the drawers in the kitchen where we keep paper and pens, and pulling out the first sheet I lay hands on I begin writing:

 _'Hey Dad, hey Mom…_

 _Sorry for the short notice, but Ikki and Meelo and I kinda went on an adventure. We're going to go find Korra and Gran-Gran. Don't worry about us - wait a sec, I know you'll be worried… Just don't worry too much, we'll be fine. We're with Opal and Bolin. Hopefully we'll talk to you soon._

 _Again, please don't worry. I promise we'll be safe._

 _Love, Jinora'_

Carefully placing the note on the door of the fridge and fastening it there with a magnet impersonating a miniature pineapple I make my way back to the front, and lock the door on my way out. For some reason I linger on the front steps for a few seconds, debating if this is something I actually should be doing, but my wild side wins over when Opal calls my name from her spot in the driver's seat.

"Coming!"

I scurry back to the car, and when I open the door I realize that maybe this is going to be a lot tougher than I initially thought. Kai's sitting at the far end beside Ikki, and Meelo is the closest to me, sitting at the opposite end of Kai.

"Are you coming or not?" my little brother demands, and I unbuckle his seatbelt to haul him out of the seat, replacing it with my bottom instead.

"Hey! That's not fair!" he pouts, but I don't care.

"I've got a bigger butt than you do, so sit on my lap," I tell him, making sure to grab him by the hand more gently than when I literally ripped him from his seat. He complies with a groan, and I fasten the seatbelt over the both of us.

In the front rear view mirror Opal cracks a grin, and the sound of a revving engine and her little green buggy coming to life signals that we're off.

Before I wasn't sure if Korra was just making stories. She's really good at that. But I think she wasn't exaggerating when she said that Opal was one of the craziest drivers she's ever met.

The six of us speed down the highway at an alarming rate. I wouldn't be surprised if Opal did street racing as one of her recreational hobbies. It'd fit her to a T.

"Can we stop at McDonald's?" Meelo screeches from my lap, and I groan before either Bolin or Opal has a chance to answer.

"Meelo, you know McDonald's isn't good for you."

"I don't care!" he reiterates, "I want some chicken nuggets. I'm hungry."

"Be quiet. We just ate before we left. Plus we have to let Opal concentrate, she's driving, okay?"

"I don't care! I'm hungry!"

There's a few more minutes of Meelo complaining, and the first time that Opal swerves her car because she claims she was 'losing her concentration' I beg her to make a pit stop at the first fastfood restaurant she saw. It'd be better to do that and satiate my little brother's (or should I say gremlin's?) needs than die at the hands of a crazy street driver who can't drive correctly because all she can hear is shrieking coming from the back seat.

So we stop.

And ten minutes later we're back on the road again, the stench of mcdoubles and fries (oh, can't forget those chicken nuggets) flowing throughout the car as free as a pony in a pasture. I can't help but feel a bit hungry myself, but I refuse to eat. Kai tries handing me a hamburger but I say no thank you, and when I try to refocus on our mission at hand Ikki taps me on the shoulder.

She's got about ten french fries sticking out from under her top lip, and she growls at me.

I shove her in the side. "Ooh, you're such a scary french fry monster. Ahhhhh," I dryly pretend to appear afraid and she frowns. A fry falls out of her mouth.

"Hey hey, we're almost there guys!" Bolin calls to us, although it's a little hard to understand him. It's easy to tell he's got food in his mouth, and I see he's waving two quarter pounders in his hands. Now one's out the window, and lettuce scatters into the wind as he points at an exit sign a few feet away, which we quickly zoom by. "This is the exit to StoneTech. Everyone be on your best behavior when we get there, alright? We only got one shot at this," he tells us over a mouthful of burger, and three hums of agreement come from beside me. Probably because their mouths are all full.

My eyes are peeled the whole way down the lonesome road. Off in the distance I can see a few people, they look like those guys who guide a plane when it's about to take off, and they wave those glow stick things. There's a somewhat larger vehicle that looks like a plane off in the distance, and I imagine perhaps they're flight testing it.

God, I really hope we don't die trying to do this.

The car comes to a sudden stop, and the four of us in the backseat lunge forward in our seats. A few fries soar out from between Ikki's lips, and then the engine cuts. A door slams and then suddenly the door beside Kai opens rather forcefully, displaying a kick-ass looking Opal with a single fry dangling out of the corner of her mouth like a cigarette.

"Let's move, kids!" she says, and none of us make any attempt to do so because we're all staring at her she claps her hands. The noise sounds like miniature gunshots. "Chop chop!" she instructs, and we all struggle to exit from the car.

Bolin already has all of our stuff out, and he hauls two bags over each shoulder, half-eaten sandwiches in each of his hands.

Opal locks the car door. "Follow me, y'all," she tells us, and we all comply. The mixture of this girl's sudden intensity and the sight of the StoneTech building looming in front of us is enough to make Meelo's knees go weak, and he sinks to the ground like a deflated balloon.

"Carry me, Jinora," he says, and because I don't want Opal to see him acting up (and also because there's no time to lose, in my opinion) I lug his Spongebob backpack over my free shoulder and then heave him up to my chest.

"Thanks," he playfully pats me on the cheek, and I frown. His breath smells like chicken nuggets and sweet and sour sauce.

"Whatever," I reply.

The six of us walk through the entrance, which I'm thinking is a testing garage. There's so many people bustling around in here it's unbelievable, but it would make sense. Some of them give us slightly curious stares, but when Bolin and Opal wave and mention here and there that they're taking their 'little cousins' on a field trip, no one seems to mind.

We make it through the garage easy-peasy, and soon find ourselves in a blindingly-white hallway with forked paths that lead to who-knows where.

"Uh, I think we're lost…" Kai mumbles as he tugs on Opal's sleeve. She looks down at him with piercing green eyes, and he reels back slowly.

"We're not lost. I know exactly where to go," she says, which sounds like she's saying it more to herself than to the rest of us.

A StoneTech worker busily scribbling onto a clipboard walks in our direction, and Opal immediately steps up to him, blocking his path. He looks up a bit disturbed, and adjusts his glasses before lowering the clipboard down to his side.

"Excuse me, could you please direct us to the place where you guys have your airplanes and private jet things? You know, stuff that flies," Opal asks the man.

Well put, Opal. I'm applauding.

Oh yeah, and you were definitely lost.

The man's eyes flow from Opal to each of our faces, and it's apparent that he's obviously very confused. "And you are..?"

"Opal Beifong. I occasionally advertise for StoneTech, friend of Korra Liqhtani and Asami Sato?" she drawls, and upon finishing the man still looks just as lost as he did earlier when first laying eyes on us.

Bolin steps forward. "Maybe you recognize me? I'm Nuktuk. You know, the guy from that new movie series Varrick's working on."

"Ohhhhh okay, yeah!" the guy chuckles, and I myself almost feel like bursting out into laughter as well. I mean, I don't even know about this Nuktuk guy, but apparently he's more famous than Opal if he knows who Bolin is. "Yeah, I recognize you, Nuktuk."

Bolin beams brightly. "These here are my adorable lil' cousins, and me and my beautiful girlfriend decided to take them all on a field trip today at the place we work at!" he gushes, and I almost feel like puking at the amount of sugar coating his voice. Okay, well, I know he's really upbeat naturally, but this time it feels like overkill.

"Of course. I'm actually the man in charge while Varrick and his assistant aren't around, so I'll be more than glad to help you out. We have a aeronautical room at the opposite end of the building, would you like me to take you there, sir?"

Beside me I can feel Kai shaking slightly with concealed giggles, which I'm thinking were most likely birthed from the man's last half of his most recent sentence. It did sound a little… _flirty_.

Ick.

Now I'm gonna maybe barf for reals this time.

My siblings and I, along with Kai, gaze on in pure wonder as we pass various glass windows with the most incredible things happening behind them. I feel like I'm living out a movie, and just as quickly as a movie is over, we too are soon on the opposite side of the StoneTech building than from where we first started.

I'm constantly blown away by everything I lay my eyes on.

This room is definitely no exception - it's probably the size of a whole Walmart super center, and filled to the brim with all sorts of jet-looking vehicles. Things that fly. I want to rub my eyes and make sure I'm not imagining things, but I can't because I'm holding Meelo. He struggles in my grasp, somehow regaining all that energy that he lost back there. I ask if he wants to be set down, but being the lazy butt he is he refuses and instead jumps up and down in my arms.

"This is AMAZING," opal announces breathlessly, walking aimlessly in no real direction.

"Thank you, miss," the man says, seemingly very pleased with all of our stunned reactions. His gaze though is fixed on Bolin, who's jaw has literally dropped to the floor. It's as if the man is waiting for him to say something, since he obviously doesn't pay much attention to Opal.

Bolin doesn't get the message so I walk up to him and give him a hard shove in the side with my elbow to the best of my current abilities.

"Ouch!" he cries, rubbing his side in feigned pain. That couldn't have hurt. I'm only like eighty-five pounds (a bit small for my age), but who cares. I grunt and try to nod at the man watching us, and thankfully Bolin gets the idea.

"Oh, um, maybe you could show us around inside of one? The kids would really like that. Maybe one that's been tested already and can fly and all that? Y'know…" he makes a sound like he's revving a car engine, and again I catch Kai trying to stifle back a chuckle. "Something that's ready to take off! It'd be cool, right?"

"If you insist - it'd be my pleasure to show you and your family around, Mr. Nuktuk."

I think this man is seriously buying into Opal's and Bolin's delusions. Thankfully.

Within the next minute Varrick's appointed man has carefully selected a small but large enough jet (private, I'm thinking because of the size) that sits a little ways from a gigantic garage door. It's closed, of course. But squinting my eyes as we all begin boarding the jet I stop at the bottom step, and studying the large door I see a small button on the left side, under a sort of clear plastic cover. That's gotta be the button to open the door.

I continue up the steps after the others.

The inside of the jet is unbelievable, most likely crafted in response to someone who likes to travel in luxury and style. Varrick, I'm assuming.

"What do you think?" our personal StoneTech tour guide asks, clearly eager to breach our thoughts.

"It's AMAZING," Opal says again, but like before the words go right through one of the man's ears and out the other. Again his hazel eyes are fixed on Bolin's astonished face, awaiting a thought from the one-and-only 'Nuktuk'.

I'm almost expecting Bolin to say ' _We'll_ _take_ _it_!' as if we're a large modern family roaming a car lot for the perfect one, but I can just see it in his eyes. This is it. He doesn't have to say it.

The inside of the jet looks most likely like a small, very comfy living room, with leather sofas on either side of the jet, and a very fancy coffee table in between the two of them. There's a small bar/kitchen in the back, to my surprise (not sure if we'll be needing that), and a plasma tv screen stuck on the ceiling as you go towards the cockpit area. In the back I notice a closed door, which I'm guessing is most likely the restroom.

Bolin sets down his and Opal's bags and curiously begins heading over in the way of the cockpit, tapping his chin thoughtfully before he turns around and locks his eyes on our tour guide. "Say… Maybe you could tell me how someone, you know, hypothetically would fly this thing?" He rocks on the balls of his feet, and it gives him a slightly naivish look. I'm sure our tour guide is swept away with his charm, because he instantly rushes over to Bolin's side.

"I've always been interested in planes and stuff." Bo waves a hand over to the others and I. "Hey guys, wanna come see how you fly one of these things?"

Following his lead we all rush over, curiosity glazing our excited faces and awaiting for the tour guide to tell us more.

The guy looks really proud, especially since Bolin is basically jumping up and down with excitement. "Well, you may be surprised, but nowadays here at StoneTech we're trying to make the majority of our planes and jets more auto-piloted. They can be driven by an already installed hybrid-AI-GPS, something Varrick likes to call affectionaly 'HAG'."

That's the last straw, before Kai explodes in laughter, and Ikki and Meelo quickly follow. I notice Opal covering her mouth, most likely to hold her laugh in, but I know she's on the brink of no return because he face is as red as a tomato. Bolin is almost the same, but I'm shocked he's the one who's managing to keep the most composure besides myself.

It's a hint he's really serious about this.

"A-Awesome!" he manages, literally pleading with the rest of our group to shut up and not make us looks like total idiots. "So uh, my friend -" Bolin wraps an arm around the man's shoulder and turns him away from all the laughing, which I'm grateful he does. "How would one operate this HAG?"

While the two of them are talking, the StoneTech man completely having bought into our little family idea, I set down Meelo and our bags and pull Kai aside. He's still chuckling some, but once I seize him by the elbow of his hoodie he catches a glimpse of my more serious face and instantly stops his antics.

"Wh-What is it, Jinora?" Kai asks in a surprisingly concerned tone of voice, and although there's a minuscule tint of hilarity in his words, the overpowering sincerity in his green eyes wins me over completely.

"Kai," I whisper, looking back toward the tour guide and Bolin and Opal in the cockpit with my siblings to make sure they're all absorbed in listening to the man give us direction on how someone were to hypothetically fly this thing. "We're gonna need someone to open the garage door so we can head out." I nod towards the outside of the jet, and we both walk over to pop our heads outside the door where I point to the little square on the side of the large exit.

"Okay… So what's the plan?"

"Once we get this guy out of here, I'm gonna make my way towards the entrance and press the button. It'll open the door so we can get out."

"But how are you gonna be able to get back in?" Kai asks, somewhat alarmed.

"Leave the door open for me. I'll - figure something out."

Kai's eyes feel like they're searching through my soul. "Are you sure about this?"

"It's the only way we're going to get out of here."

He nods slowly, as if he's trying to convince himself that it'll be alright.

And it will, I know it will.

"Okay."

We both head back to the cockpit just as the man is finishing up telling Bo and the others about HAG.

"So!" He claps his hands together. "Any other stuff you'd like to look at?"

I nod to Kai, who seems to get the idea of what I'm thinking. Distract the man.

"Say mister, do you think you could tell us about this kitchen bar thing? Like, I wanna know what kind of stuff you can do with this baby. I kind of work in a kitchen myself, so cooking really interests me," he tells the man, and I'm genuinely proud of how quick Kai was to have come up with another question to incite the man.

While they move from the cockpit to the bar/kitchen, I pull Bolin and Opal back for a short moment, just long enough to let them in on my plan.

"You're gonna open the door?" Opal repeats, and I can tell she doesn't like the idea very much.

"Yeah. But you guys have got to get rid of this man and be ready to start firing up the engines and everything. I'll try to be at the entrance before all that and have the door opening by then, but we'll all need to be on the same page for this to work out."

Korra's friends nod in unison, and I grin.

We got this. I played soccer for a few years back in middle school, so I like to think I'm somewhat athletic, although recently dad's been getting me and the others to do more yoga and meditation than anything else.

"Opal, you stay in here and get the engines going while I take this guy for a walk. Say you're just gonna chill in here for a bit - Jinora and I will take care of the rest," Bolin grins at me, and I give him a reassuring and encouraging nod. Yeah. This is gonna work.

"She's just an old HAG, remember? She's not going to be that hard to fly," he chuckles, and begins walking toward the kitchen. It's the signal that he's getting ready to put our plan into action.

Opal smirks and carefully makes her way over to the cockpit, looking back over her shoulder occasionally as to keep an eye on the tour guide. She sits down in the seat on the left and gives me a thumbs up, and I send one back her way.

"Is there a bathroom around here? I know there's one here in the jet, but after those mcdoubles I think I'm going to need something a little more heavy duty..." Bolin announces probably too loudly (and definitely too TMI, although I can't tell if he's fibbing or not), but again it's all part of the plan. The man looks at him with a slightly surprised expression that quickly turns into one of charmed delight (how he can be delighted after hearing that, I don't know... Ick!) and he chuckles some.

"Of course! Would you like me to show you to the nearest one?"

I can almost see the twinkle in the StoneTech man's eyes. It sickens me to no end.

I decide to hold my barf in for now.

"Please, if you wouldn't mind," Bolin skitters down the jet stairs and bounces on his feet, and the man follows after him with the strangest look on his face.

"We'll wait here for you to get back!" I call out, pretending to be serious. Like heck we're gonna sit around - we've got somewhere to be.

With an arm around the man's shoulder Bolin turns to send a wink our way, and Kai and I give him a thumbs up.

"Let's do this thing." Jogging down the stairs as silently as I can as not to catch the StoneTech guy's attention, I whisper more loudly than I'm accustomed to to my crush in the doorway. "Keep Ikki and Meelo inside, alright?"

"Got it, Jinora."

The sounds of my siblings questioning my leave echo in my mind, but this is no time to slow down and explain to them everything. If this doesn't work then we're never going to be able to visit Korra and Gran-Gran in a reasonable amount of time.

I pump my arms and feel the pavement of mundane concrete beneath my feet. It's hard and cold, the temperature enough to seep into the bottoms of my converse. I ignore it, and continue to run as fast as my legs will carry me to the front of the garage. My heart thuds dangerously loud in my chest, alerting me that I'll most likely need to engage in more vigorous exercise when I come back from Alaska. If we ever do make it there, which I'm praying we will.

It seems like an eternity later, but I somehow manage to reach the end of the garage. My eyes dart toward the spot where we entered, and sure enough it seems as though Bolin and the tour guide have already departed through the doors, most likely on their way now to the bathroom.

Then I look back towards our selected jet, and I'm sure Opal notices me look their way because at that exact instant the engines begin to roar as they come to life.

Luckily there is no lock on the case covering the button, and I flip the plastic up and slam my fist as hard as I can into the red circle with the words 'OPEN/CLOSE' directly above it.

Our jet begins to move, slowly at first, but then picking up speed as it heads my way. I give my friends and family a wave, and I'm positive that I can see my little brother and sister, along with Kai, cheering me on in the little windows decorating the side.

I don't know why I stand there as long as I do, but it's when the jet is nearing me at a speed that I can't comprehend that I hear someone shouting.

It's Bolin, rearing up a ways behind me with the tour guide man hot on his heels.

"Jin! Hurry, get on the jet!"

Something clicks in my brain and I realize how stupid I've been, just standing there as the garage door opened and our means of escape neared me faster and faster. I notice that the stairs that once led up to the jet have now been discarded back where the vehicle was once stationed, and my heart leaps into my throat.

The jet passes by me.

Bolin continues to yell, and waving his arms at me he gestures for me to hurry up.

I begin running again, running after the large metal bird that's picking up more and more speed. My lungs burn and my legs ache as I will them on to continue their duties, but it's been too long since I've actually done a sufficient amount of cardio.

My body begins to complain, and the groans I physically feel manifest into pooling heat that gathers in my muscles and forms pins and needles in my throat.

Suddenly a strong pair of arms hoists me into the air, and the wind is knocked out of me as I'm set onto someone's burly shoulders.

It's Bolin, and I can hear him panting heavily as we move over the now black pavement with alarming speed. Looking up I see the tour guide man having fallen behind us, looking just as exhausted as I currently feel.

The deafening roar of the jet seems farther and farther away to me.

But I refuse to let in.

"D-Don't give up, Bolin," I manage to cough, and a noise that sounds an awful lot like a chuckle escapes him.

" _Never_."

It must be because he's one of the most athletic guys I know (I think Korra told me he did football or something…), but miraculously we begin speeding up. Over the sound of the jet engines I can hear something else, and it almost sounds like multiple people yelling.

Despite all the bouncing, being stationed over Bolin's shoulder, I manage to catch a glimpse of Kai and my siblings. Dangerously the three of them have gathered by the jet's still open door, and thankfully the jet hasn't gained enough speed yet to fully out distance the incredible Nuktuk.

Bolin grunts and forces himself to run even faster and harder than previously, and in a matter of a few seconds we've sided up beside the open door. With as much strength as he can muster he lifts me from off of his shoulder, and heaves me in the direction of Kai's open arms.

"Grab hold!" Kai urges, and I do the best I can to grab a hold of him. I want to scream at Ikki to get back, or even Meelo, but I don't have enough energy to do so. I use whatever I have left to reach up to Kai, who seizes me by the elbows and with Ikki's help pulls me inside of the jet. I collapse on the floor, wheezing and feeling like I can hack out my lungs at any second.

I'm disrupted though by Kai who shakes my shoulders, and the only words I can understand are 'help' and Bolin's name.

Oh crap!

Pushing myself up from the incredibly soft carpet I scurry over in a disgruntled fashion toward the door, where Bolin is barely hanging in there. With Kai on the one side of the door and me on the other I reach out for him.

Bo's fingers eagerly skim the inside of my palm, seeking a safe grip. He falters some and almost gives in to a devastating stumble, but wills himself to remain upright. There's so many sounds; the jet engine roaring as it screams for us to hurry up, Opal shouting from the cockpit, my smaller siblings shrieking in fright, and Bolin's ragged breath.

"Jump!" I shout, and Bolin's wild eyes communicate an agreement with me at the idea.

With what I'm assuming is the last of his strength he lunges forward, and so do Kai and I at the same time.

Bolin's large hand grabs onto my arm, and we wrist lock. Kai quickly grabs onto his other hand, and at last we've got a hold of him. With Ikki grabbing me around my waist and Meelo pulling at Kai's jacket, we manage to haul Bolin inside right as the ground beneath us seems to jump, sending us falling back onto the jet's carpet.

We're finally taking off, and it's a miracle that we were able to save Bolin.

And it's a miracle that he was able to save me.

Kai gets up before I do and makes his way over to the door, pressing the button that closes it shut. After doing so he collapses back onto the floor, and besides all our heavy panting and Bolin's groans that make him sound like he's dying I can hear Opal cheering from the cockpit.

The sounds causes a smile to erupt on my face, and I roll myself over on the ground, coming face to face with an extremely exhausted Bolin and a relieved Kai with his head on the older boy's stomach.

Pretty soon we're all giggling, and I allow my eyes to close for a brief moment, not quite sure when I'll next open them. Someone slides a large hand through my hair and tousles my brown locks, and I crack open an eye to see Bolin smiling at me. He's now sitting cross-legged with his back against one of the couches, and I wave a tired hand at him.

"Thanks Jin," he says, and I laugh as Ikki flops onto my stomach, causing my eyes to bug out of their sockets.

"No, thank you Bo."

Kai also seems to catch on, and he joins in. "Yeah, thanks Bo, thanks Ope," he says loud enough for the girl in the cockpit to hear.

"No problem guys," Opal replies in a nonchalant manner, just like she always does. Her carefree attitude at other times can be a bit annoying, but right now it's what I need to hear. "Next stop, Alaska!"

* * *

 **thanks to all of you who've stuck with me this far! :)**


	35. Chapter 35

**a mixture of korra pov and katara pov, just so you know.**

* * *

 **Something Lost and Something Found**

"Are you guys sure it'll be fine if we just leave?"

Giving Eska and Desna a worrisome gaze from the doorway, they nod their heads in unison. So careless and nonchalant, free of all tethers to this world… Okay, maybe just carefree. I wish I could be like them.

I heave the large backpack on my shoulders up a bit; the straps chafing against my collarbone with the ridiculous weight of our supplies was getting a little uncomfortable.

"You worry too much," Eska slyly retaliates. "Weren't you the one who wanted to go exploring ten minutes ago?"

Desna walks out the door to side along his sister at the top of the staircase, and my mind hesitates and struggles to develop a comeback. They're right, I was the one who wanted to go do something more exciting.

"Yeah, okay."

At the bottom of the staircase I gather up my jacket that Uncle Unalaq set on the side of the hall, and then I slip on my boots. The pack on my back is large but not too unbearable (come on now, I'm Korra! Champion swimmer, remember?), and it sags up against my head as I lean down to put on my shoes. Goshdarnit.

Pulling my beanie down lower on my head and adjusting my jacket's hood, I look up to find my cousins waiting eagerly by the door. In the background, I can hear Katara and Unalaq chatting away, probably filling themselves up with delicious hot chocolate.

"Ready to go?" A slight smile forms at the corners of Desna's mouth, allowing perfect white teeth to shine in the brightly lit hallway. Eska cocks her head at me, and I grin.

"Let's blow this popsicle stand." I stride toward the two with a renewed enthusiasm, and we all exit the house, exposing ourselves to the Alaskan wilderness.

Okay, okay. It's not actually that bad. It's just snowing a bit. A snowflake finds its way onto the tip of my nose, and I try to lick it off. Desna gives me a weird look until I realize that my tongue doesn't reach very far, I look away and stuff my hands into my jacket pockets instead, scuffing the snow beneath my feet with the point of my boot.

"So, where're we headed?" I ask them. Eska immediately responds by pointing to a large, white plain off in the distance. A few hills dance at the farther end, and mountains rise near the horizon line.

"That's our destination," Eska informs me as she begins walking in the direction she just pointed out, and it bothers me that I'm still kind of confused.

"So we're going to the plain?" I ask, my breath condensing into large puffy clouds as I hustle to catch up to the two twins. They're surprisingly quick despite their malnourished look.

"Past the plain," Desna answers for his sister, of which I settle for. Whatever, they know where they're going. I'm just tagging along.

A few minutes later things are relatively silent between the three of us except for the crunching of snow beneath our feet and the shy whisper of wind whipping past our ears. I take in a large gulp of freezing air, and the cool oxygen furrows into the lining of my lungs. The cold is slowly eating me, but I choose to ignore it. By the looks of it, Desna and Eska are pretty at home with the icy temperatures… Geez, now is probably the only time in my life when I wish that I didn't live in California. Living in a southwestern state makes you really grow accustomed to the warm climates, and then you're not exactly at terms with a more frigid climate, you know? Which to me is anything below 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

Something stirs within me to start up conversation once again, and unreasonably I'm compelled to have words stream out of my mouth unfiltered. "It's cool how you guys have wilderness for a backyard. Pretty gnarly."

"Makes for an exciting playtime," Eska replies half-heartedly. By the tone of her voice I can easily tell she's more concentrated on reaching our destination - wherever that is.

"That right over there was my favorite spot to play tag with Eska." Desna points to an unspecified area off to his right, and I don't know if he's being sarcastic or not. "Oh, the memories."

Things fade quickly into silence once again, and something tells me it's a bad idea to voice any more of my stupid opinions.

Half an hour later we've reached the area at the farther end of the somewhat vast plain, and the piles of rock and snow that were once small in the distance have grown into exhilarating dome sculptures. Their rocky outcropping reaches toward the sky, daring the heavens to do their worst.

Eska raises her hand to the earthy protrusion in a gesture of importance. "After we cross this little tidbit here, we'll be one our way to the mountains. That's a decent viewing area near there to see the aurora borealis," she finishes off precisely, a little smirk tugging at her lips and making her seem a bit more intimidating.

I take a few steps forward to place myself in front of the rocky hill before us, it's siblings stretching out in a long line both to my left and right in a tireless parade. The thought of seeing the aurora borealis makes me excited, and the little muscle in my chest turns the speed up a notch or two. Yeah… The aurora borealis? I wanna see that!

"We're gonna see the aurora borealis?" I mutter under my breath loud enough for my cousins to hear, and the frown that I once saw on Eska's taught lips has managed to spread a little wider, revealing pearly whites identical to her brother's.

"Of course. If you came here all the way from California we can't let you leave without catching a glimpse of the lights touching the earth," she says, nodding at Desna. "Plus, maybe we'll be able to find that tree while we're at it."

"I'm hella down for that!" I exclaim, doing my best to climb over the rocky outcropping that separates me from my destiny. The echoes of 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty' soundtrack reverberate in my mind, filling every fibre of my being with something I can only label as excitement. Something that sounds like Eska and Desna chuckling makes its way into my ears, but I'm too focused on climbing over the most recent obstacle to pay it much mind.

Aurora borealis.

The words are there, haunting, almost as if they're a song someone just set on repeat.

Vaatu and Raava.

The two spirits, deities entitled with projecting their respective forces on the world and life itself.

Both sound absolutely amazing. And even if they're both fairy tales, I want to keep on believing in them. It gives me something to hope in, to want to see.

The sudden beating of wind against my cheeks tells me I need to quit playing the corny narrator, and this time when someone calls my name I don't try to ignore it.

"Korra, catch!"

Desna tosses something my way, and I jump back slightly in order to properly grab hold of the little dark object without dropping it into the snow. Sudden warmth blooms in the joining of my two hands, and I look down to see Desna's tossed me a pocket-sized handwarmer. The small gesture makes me smile, and I see Desna grinning back at me. He pulls his hood closer over his head, and nudges his sister in the side. Pulling her hands out of her pockets she fishes out a handwarmer of her own, and it makes me happy to see that they're both trying to keep an eye out for me.

"You're going to need that, Korra." Desna raises his voice slightly as the wind begins to pick up, more and more snowflakes seeking shelter on the expanse of land before us.

Eska nods in agreement and stuffs her hands once again back into her dark blue jacket. "He's right you know; we've still got quite a ways to go."

* * *

The kitchen here is warm, a comfortable kind of atmosphere that is surprisingly contrasting to such an odd, distant man.

Don't tell Unalaq that I think he's awkward or odd, it would just complicate things. But it's not a joke that things have been a little strained between him and his brother. It's the main reason as to why Korra had no idea she had relatives over here in such a desolate area of the world. Things were just tough between the two brothers, and for the longest time they never talked.

By now I'm really hoping that Korra will grow used to her relatives. Learn some new things, whether they be about herself or about them. She needs to know.

And even if her parents didn't want her to come along (heck, that's why I didn't tell them anything about our secret trip), I knew that this was something that she should take part in. Although I did receive a pretty harsh lecturing from her parents as well as my own son - well, it can't be helped. Korra reminds me so much of Aang when he was still alive. Making her happy is something that I feel is my duty, and it makes me smile whenever she's in a good mood. And even when she isn't - it makes me want to fix whatever may be wrong.

"Would you like some more hot chocolate, Katara?"

I shake my head, and the thoughts that since filled my mind are nothing more than a hazy daydream. It was getting a little hard trying to pay significant attention to what Unalaq had been saying not too long ago; he went on a tangent about the current Alaskan politicians in the area. Bo-ring.

"Oh um, yes please - thank you very much," I smile sweetly, hoping to not have appeared too bored earlier. Even though I most certainly was.

Unalaq carefully reaches out for my mug and heads back to the stove, where he refills my cup with more of the drink.

"It's quite delicious. The best hot chocolate I've ever tasted, most likely," I quickly share before I take another soul-warming sip. Honestly, I am quite amazed at how good this is.

"Why thank you." Unalaq smiles and retakes his seat at the table, an accomplished smile on his face. "It's a family recipe. Surprises me that Tonraq hasn't ever made this, has he?"

"No, that man doesn't know how to make anything besides cereal. And even that you don't technically make. He's a bit helpless actually when it comes to anything culinary, so the cooking is usually left up to Senna," I reveal, my mind falling back to the time when Tonraq tried to surprise his family with a special homemade dinner of spaghetti and meatballs with a side of parmesan chicken. The whole kitchen almost ended up in flames, and after witnessing large clouds of ominous smoke climb their way over my fence, I hastily made my way over to help make an actually presentable (and edible) meal. Also to help put out the almost-fire.

"There are the rare times though that Tonraq will volunteer to help with a meal, if he and Senna are both home. But usually she doesn't want to take the chance of burning her house down again."

Unalaq almost chokes on his beverage, and I smile into my mug again.

Wiping around his mouth with a napkin he leans forward in his chair, looking as excited as I have ever seen him since the moment I got here. Probably even more excited than when Korra and I arrived earlier today.

The kitchen is filled with what I would label as maniacal laughter for a few short seconds, and after taking another sip of my drink I meet Unalaq's wild blue eyes. In a way, I wish his brother was here laughing with him instead of me - they need time together to sort through all those years of disassociation.

"Do you -" he takes a moment to catch a breath, which makes me crack a small smile. He's slowly beginning to show his more sociable side. "Do you have any other stories about him?"

"Hmm…" I pretend to think, but only do it to look like I care. Which in a way I don't. If you want to know why it's because it's his family and brother he needs to ask these questions to, not me. As much as I'd like to sit here and talk about Tonraq's hilarious blunders all day, I have better things to do. Like maybe go with Korra to that buffet we saw along the way here.

"Nothing really comes to mind," I lie. "Although Korra might have a few more stories in her pocket. She naturally does spend more time with her father than I do, after all." A devious smile tugs at my lips. "Perhaps we should call her and the twins down? They could join us for some hot chocolate."

Unalaq mulls the idea over for a few seconds before nodding in agreement. "Wonderful. Yes, it has been a while - and it would be good to get to know my niece better, wouldn't it?"

"Smart man," I say as Unalaq glides across the wooden floor to the base of the stairs.

"Eska… Desna… Korra - would you three care to join Katara and I for some hot chocolate? I've made some fresh. Especially for this occasion," he calls out. His strong voice is answered by nothing except silence.

Frightful silence.

Frightful because maybe it's just me, or maybe it isn't - but I could have sworn maybe half an hour ago or so I could hear the occasional shout of disapproval or excited roar. From what I gathered (plus this little message Korra sent me not too long ago), what the three of them were doing was very apparent.

I pull out my phone and press the home button.

A single sentence floats across the screen.

 **Korra:** _we're playing videogames - the evil twins aren't so bad :)_

A curious feeling begins to unfold within me, something constituting of a mixture of dread and curiosity. With every step I take toward Unalaq standing puzzled at the bottom of the stairway the feeling grows stronger and stronger, clawing at the walls of my stomach and causing me to tread my feet faster and faster against wooden floor. If I didn't know better by the way I was moving and the reason for it, I would have guessed I was twenty again and killing it on the stair master of my university's gym. Sokka always used to tease me about how he could do more steps than I could.

The door's hinges hiss at me angrily as I push the door open, and perhaps rather harshly.

Unalaq's disturbed breathing doesn't go unnoticed by me, because at that exact moment I am breathing heavily too. And it's not because of the stairs.

"They're gone," I mutter, the words ghosting past my lips. And then I can only shake my head as I wander around the room dazed. "But - where - where could they have gone?"

"I - I don't know," Unalaq answers in a voice that's almost hysterical, judging by the wavering tone. He sounds frightful. "They've never left the house before for the longest time… It's so - unexpected of them. They never go anywhere."

I dash back down the stairs again and my stomach drops when I see that both Korra's jacket and shoes are gone.

My hand reaches for the handle of the doorknob, of which I quickly turn to force open. A cold wind whips my face, scattering a brash sprinkle of white into the hallway.

"Korraaaaa!" I shout, although I am certain she can't hear me.

My old fingers fumble to close the door as I feel twin trails of something cold and wet streak across my face. My throat burns. I try harder and harder to pull the door closed, but it's almost like the white expanse lying right outside is taunting me, chiding me and my desire to get it out of my sight.

So I go back to the kitchen, and in the background I can hear Unalaq telling me something. But right now all I can really register is my raspy, heavy breathing, and although I know I shouldn't I silently curse myself for whatever just happened. Whatever _is_ happening.

I pick up my phone which I had deserted on Unalaq's dinner table and desperately try to dial Korra's number, to get through to her…

My trembling fingers make everything a thousand times harder and more frustrating, and when the phone finally starts ringing I grasp it as close to my ear as possible.

It's my only way to talk to Korra…

It rings and rings and rings.

My throat burns and burns and burns, and I swallow air that feels like it melts and freezes at the same time.

A click sounds.

 _"The number you dialed cannot be reached…"_

My old frail hands can't find the strength to hold onto the device any longer, and it falls to the floor.

I sink to the ground along with it, my throat burning and burning and burning, and the inside of my head ringing, ringing, ringing…

Aang… What have I done?

* * *

"Dude, this is nice! Like, it feels like I'm laying down on a giant marshmallow," I laugh and continue to jerk around on the inflatable mattress, probably looking like I'm suffering from a seizure. Eska and Desna just stare at me like I'm a lunatic for a moment, and then share a knowing look between themselves.

I stop my wriggling and sit up as a thought comes to mind. "Wait a minute… Are we going to spend the night here? What about Katara and Uncle Unalaq? We - We've gotta tell them where we are…"

Eska blinks a few times. "You honestly didn't register that until now?"

I feel like shrinking down into the inflatable mattress, never to be heard from again as I disappear into an unfathomable abyss of dark squishy marshmallowy-

"Nooo…" I drawl stupidly, allowing my brain to take in all the details from the past hour. Which in translation is the small two man tent (supposedly we're going to try and fit three) along with a single sleeping bag on the floor, a small battery-powered lamp, a caboodle of easy to eat finger foods (not surprised since the two of them are professional gamers), and then our three backpacks. Also a few sticks of that dynamite-looking stuff and some bottles of water. "Oh man, I totally missed the entire point, didn't I?" I smile crookedly, inwardly lecturing myself for my unperceptive state of mind.

Desna folds his arms. It reminds me of how my dad looks when I come back home late and he's there sitting at the base of the staircase. "Cousin Korra, the aurora borealis only happens at night or early morning when it's still dark. You wouldn't expect us to come out here and head back before it got dark, would you?"

"Errrr, no?" I try, praying to god that I don't look as dumb as I sound. Which I'm sure I'm failing miserably at.

But still, they should have said something! About having to camp out here at night in order to see the aurora borealis. Or then again, I should have known things were a little fishy when I was watching them pack enough food to last almost an entire weekend.

I swing my legs over the side of the inflatable mattress and fiddle with the little handwarmer that Desna had tossed to me earlier that day. It feels grainy in my palm, and I pick absentmindedly at the corners. "But… Katara…" I sound sad. And truthfully, a part of my heart feels burdened. I'm worried she's going to think I ran off. Okay, I KNOW she's going to worry, but I didn't know that we were going to be gone for so long.

I should have realized.

Eska plops down beside me, and I jump some when I feel her small hand rest itself on my thigh. "Don't worry. We'll go back tomorrow. It'll be fine."

I meet her emotionless gaze, holding nothing but a sea of blue. Blue like the Californian sky. Blue like Katara's bright eyes. The only difference between theirs would be that Katara's are warm, friendly… Eska's are icy and distant.

I know she's trying her best to comfort me, and it's not exactly helpful that the two of these guys are recluses, so I do the best I can to nod and smile back at her.

"Okay," I say as Eska pats my leg before making her way over to Desna, who's settled himself on the ground among a pile of various snacks. He's got a Nintendo 3DS in his hands, and I shake my head when I see Eska pull one out of her own bag and begin to click away.

It seems like they'll be off in their own little worlds for a while.

I allow the only inflatable mattress in the tent to get the best of me again, and falling back down into the heavenly giant marshmallow I sigh. The thoughts of Katara worrying about me I attempt to slowly push out of mind. "So, uh…. What time does the aurora borealis magic happen?" I ask, hoping that neither of my cousins is already so sucked into their game that they can't hear me.

"They usually ensue during the late hours. Maybe after ten. We'll need to keep an eye out," Desna replies, eyes never leaving the screen. What sounds like the background music to a Pokemon game makes itself prominent over the whistling of the Alaskan wind.

"That's-" I fish out my phone from my back pocket and turn it on.

3:28.

"Um, that's like seven hours from now…"

"Better sit tight then."

I frown. Ugh, sit tight for almost seven hours? That's impossible! Well, for someone like me, maybe. I always feel like I've gotta be moving. It's just the way I am.

I turn on my phone again to catch a glimpse of the top left corner. Two small words draw my attention, causing me to huff. _No service._

Well, guess I won't have much to do with no phone service. And I won't be able to tell Katara where I am.

Damn, I feel horrible not realizing we wouldn't be coming home sooner than I did. Which was literally just like two minutes ago.

To fight off the guilt (or maybe I should say to forget about the guilt) I close my eyes and invite sleep to haul me away from my problems.

Sometime later I'm awoken by harsh whispering.

"-wake her up.."

"-you do it, … put this away…"

My eyes flash open when a cold hand burns like ice on my cheek, and yelping I jump back and (of course this'd happen to me) end up wedged between the inflatable mattress and one side of our small tent.

The chuckling and devilish smirks from the opposite side of the bed illuminated by the lamp on the floor lead me to think that I somehow ended up getting kidnapped and being the sacrifice to some satanic ritual, but then everything clicks back into place and I remember it's just Eska and Desna.

"Oh hey -" I try climbing back onto the bed, and sit cross-crossed on top of the sturdy but soft plastic. "You could have just shook me or something to wake me up, y'know," I grumble, still a bit groggy from my lengthy nap.

"Eska thought it'd be more entertaining." Desna cocks his head at his sister, who rolls her eyes. I scrunch up my nose at her.

"Brother, you know we don't have time to be arguing about this," she retorts. Then she looks at me sternly, yet with a tidbit of excitement barely noticeably in her slightly robotic tone. "Cousin Korra, the aurora borealis should be starting soon. It's best we get a move on to the viewing area, then return back here to rest."

I nod. "Uh, okay… Sounds good to me." I'm guessing they sat up playing videogames the whole time I was sleeping, but hey, I'm not about to ask. Ain't nobody got time for that.

Within a few minutes we've repacked our bags, and timidly I step out into the cold again, scrunching soft white snow underfoot. Desna and Eska follow behind, and I can't help but wince when they zip up the tent behind us. God I wish I was back in there, I'm freezing my butt off out here. It's worse than it was during the day, because there isn't any sunlight to warm me up or anything… I wish Asami was here, she'd probably let me cuddle with her.

A quick wave of Eska's hand signals for us to follow, and again there we go trekking along in the darkness. I don't feel much like talking, since I've just woken up. But the prospect of seeing the northern lights finally is enticing, and I don't mumble anything about the cruel Alaskan winds whistling past our ears teasingly.

Within half an hour we come to a kind of sloping, descending area of land, which extends a ways out.

It's a lake. A frozen lake.

I step forward, somewhat stunned as Eska and Desna keep walking. Up ahead there seems to be a few picnic tables, all of which (of course) are coated with thick blankets of snow. "The-There's a lake here?" My voice rises enthusiastically. Man, things just keep getting better and better!

"Yes. It's a popular tourist spot during the summer," Desna calls out, following quickly after his sister as I try to catch up with the two. It's kind of amazing; they're so frail looking, but dude these guys are more hardcore than me. I almost slip on a patch of ice, but pull myself upright and laugh stupidly, hoping my cousins didn't see me almost eat snow.

"It's also a good area to view the borealis when they happen during the winter. That's why we're here," Eska calls out over her shoulder.

Arriving at a picnic table she swipes her elbow over the top, moving a majority of the snow to the ground. It trickles down in clumpy loads before me, and I watch as some lands on the tips of my boots.

"Sit."

When I look up there she is, sitting comfortably on the top of the picnic table with her brother on the other side. A strangely inviting smile decorates her features, and the nearly full moon dancing high in the sky scatters light over her.

Without hesitation, I jump up onto the table and throw my backpack onto one of the benches, smiling to myself.

The sky is pure; dark and tranquil. The black surrounds our only source of light in a celestial hug, and for some reason it makes me giddy. I'm excited about this.

We sit for a few moments, and I take in the scenery again while we wait.

Lake…

Moonlight…

Awaiting something spectacular, but you're not sure what.

Green eyes flash through my mind.

Or maybe not.

The sky bursts into a flurry of rainbow.

"It's beautiful," I breathe out softly.

Green plays with vibrant magenta in the sky, both billowing like silky ribbons. Aqua slowly appears, followed by a sunset orange, and pretty soon the four colors are full on partying together; twisting and twirling, performing the most incredible optical spectacle I've ever seen in my entire life.

Something tugs in my chest. I'm not quite sure why.

The lights play on, and my eyes greedily consume the colors just ask quickly as they explode and fade away, shimmering into nonexistence.

* * *

 **i know it's been a while, but thanks for all of you who have been keeping up with the story. it means a lot to me that people are still reading this, honestly, and thanks so much for those who were able to review!**

 **also i'd like to give a special thanks to Pro Assassin, my new beta who helped with getting this chapter out. she's an amazing friend, and i couldn't thank her enough. :)**

 **see y'all next time!**


	36. Chapter 36

**yo yo, i is back! i'm sorry it's been so long, i have no excuse except for I'm lazy af. xD anywho, enough from me you probably want to know what happens next- so here's how this chapter goes: asami pov, jinora pov, and then korra pov.**

 **enjoy!**

* * *

 **A Sinking Feeling**

For whatever reason I'm here again, in my dream world. The place where I am least comfortable. It'd only make sense that after all these years they'd re-emerge haunt me again, the nightmares.

I find myself on the dock of a melancholic lake. No one is with me. But it reminds me of the lake I went to Korra with, the one with the paddle boats and dirt roads. Dark green shrubbery and tall conifer trees surround the area, making me feel as if I'm enveloped in a thick blanket of wilderness.

Waggling my feet back and forth, I sigh and glance around nervously as the eerie silence attempts to protrude my lonely thoughts. The dark water below me laps up at the shore hungrily, a small wave manages to lick my toes and a small smile creeps up onto my face. It tickles me more and I giggle, but the laugh only resounds in the pocket of nowhere that I'm mysteriously in. It bounces against the fortress of pines like a teasing echo would in a cave, and with every rebound the desolation hits me harder and harder.

I look around this again, wondering if I really am alone, and after doing so the realization hits me hard.

The water reaches up to playfully tickle my bare feet again, and directly below me I focus my eyes.

That's when I see something.

It's barely a shimmer at first, something you might relate to with the distant sparkle of a star, millions upon millions of miles away. It twinkles and flashes weakly, and almost feels as if it's calling to me, somehow… With each hapless burst of light, it grows from the small pinhead of a gleam into something bigger, something brighter. It splits off into two and there it is, zooming closer and closer, faster toward the surface of the lake and headed straight toward me. I barely register whether to move or not, having been so mesmerized by the lights that all I can do is remain glued to the wooden dock without any care in my mind besides remaining there to find out what on earth these lights are.

And then they reach me, just inches below the surface.

Their color has changed from what once was a blinding white to a shimmering blue, like the twin bases of two separate yet connected flames.

And they stare at me… Am I crazy to think that? They just - I don't know how to explain it - they hover, treading water in a motionless manner right below my feet. And that color… it reminds me so much of Korra's eyes.

The thought alone is enough to make me start back some in bewilderment, and I pull my feet out of the water and tuck them below me as I scoot back on the dock.

The water of the lake begins to stir, right there atop the glowing blue lights. It swirls and splashes aimlessly, but only for a moment. After it's little tantrum the blue lights seem to blink at me and I'm not sure if what I had done upset them or not. They remain still for a few seconds; I stare back at them, my heart pounding away in my chest with the uncertainty of it all.

And then they sink back into the water, like two heavy stones retreating to the bottom of the sea.

Carefully I crawl back toward the edge of the dock and peer over, curious as to where the pair of lights have retreated off to. Would they be back?

My hand reaches out automatically, slow and hesitant, yet with of a mind of its own aching for an answer. I lean forward in aim to touch the water, just to skim my fingertips over the surface and feel the cool wetness spill over them.

It's too late for me to scream when my mind immediately registers that I've lost my balance, because by then I've fallen into the murky depths of the water that was once urging me to dip myself into it.

I wake up with a start, my chest heaving with every breath of cool air that I can possibly take - anything to get oxygen to my lungs. I can almost feel the water rushing down my throat and filling my chest with the dark liquid. It scares me.

"Korra..." I whisper.

I curl up tighter into my blanket and close my eyes, mind and chest heavy with fear.

* * *

"Are we there yet?" Meelo whines for what feels like the five-thousandth time, and I cover my ears with both hands and groan in annoyance. Kai cracks a grin at me from his spot beside Ikki and laughs. I try to fight back a stupid grin from growing on my face in response to his cute little chuckle, but I can't resist.

"Almost there, little bud!" Opal calls over from the cockpit. She seems to me like she's really enjoying this, pretending like she's the one actually flying the jet. No offense Opal, but I'm fairly sure you wouldn't be able to fly this jet under any circumstance, even if you went to aviation school or whatever it is that people like that go to to become pilots. I just know that she'd accidentally press the emergency button at the wrong time and then everyone would freak out and she'd have no idea it was her fault. Something like that kind of situation.

Meelo wriggles in his seat and I nudge him to get him to stop. He folds his arms across his chest and sighs dramatically. "How much longer?"

"Ummmmm…" I watch Opal glance at the HAG screen from the cockpit, and after tapping the screen a few times she lifts her head back up and announces, " Uh, we're almost there - see? This is us, this little dot right here, and we're flying right off the coast of Alaska. I mean, I'm pretty sure that's Alaska..?"

"I wanna see, I wanna see!" Ikki shouts as she leaps out of her seat and bounds over to Opal's side, which immediately impels Meelo to do exactly the same thing.

Ugh, siblings can be so annoying sometimes.

"Can I try flying the plane?"

"It's a jet Meelo. And no, you can't."

"But you're flying it, and you don't even know how to fly one!"

"Um… I - I took a class in highschool."

"Really?"

"Heck yeah! It was hard, mostly paperwork but it had all the information on how to fly one of these babies. So technically yes, I am allowed to fly one," comes Opal's proud voice, wafting out of the cockpit and into my ears, which are sore from my siblings' incessant pestering these past few hours.

I roll my eyes and turn my head towards Kai on the other side of the aisle to shake my head at him, and he laughs again, the noise soothing my ears somewhat. Before I can understand what's happening Kai gets up from his spot and plops down into the one right beside me. My heart leaps into my throat as he smiles, and leans over me somewhat to glimpse outside the window on my right. He's so close that I can smell the shampoo used on his hair, something that hints strongly of Old Spice.

"Looks chilly out there," he smiles, and nestles back into the seat beside me. A goofy lopsided grin adorns his face that makes me gulp.

"U-Uh yeah, well we are flying probably directly above Alaska right now… Probably will be landing soon and all that..." I mumble, something like anxiety or perhaps nervousness causing me to begin twiddling my thumbs.

He's quiet for a moment, and all I can hear is Opal's and Bolin's cackling from the front of the jet as they fool around with Ikki and Meelo. I know Kai is staring at me, those big, green puppydog eyes of his most likely fixated on the pathetic hyperactivity of my thumbs.

"Are you worried?"

My fingers stop twitching nervously and I blink, just focusing my line of sight on my lap for the time being. "What do you mean?"

"About Korra."

I breath out a sigh I didn't know I was holding. "I - I guess so. I mean, you already saw me earlier. I just - I really care about her. She's like a big sister to me, a sister I actually like," I giggle and turn to Kai with a small smile, which he returns. "Not that I don't like Ikki, or Meelo. It's just that Korra is someone really important to me, to all of us. I don't know what my siblings and I would do without her." I take a deep breath and continue. "And it makes me scared that she's decided to do something this crazy, just up and go and not tell anyone. So yeah, I'm kind of hoping she's alright and hasn't gotten herself into much trouble. Gran-gran is with her, so I'm guessing she might be fine… But then again sometimes Gran-gran can be a bit of a kid too. That's part of the reason why whenever dad and mom need a babysitter they usually call Korra first, and then second choice is Gran-gran, haha," I laugh a bit harder this time, remembering all those times when dad and mom would fret about getting a babysitter if Korra happened to be busy. It never was that often that she was, but man, sometimes they'd reluctantly send us over to Gran-gran's and tell her that whenever Korra came back to have her go straight there to hang out with us.

Korra always knows how to keep us under control better, to a degree.

Well, keep Ikki and Meelo under control better. Yeah, that's what I mean. I'm more like one of those well-behaved, mature kinda kids, I like to think.

I lean back in my chair and sigh again, a small smile forming on my face knowing that Kai is acting concerned about me. I always knew he was a good guy, ever since that first day I laid eyes on him when we ordered pizza from his family's restaura-

"Jinora!"

I jump out of my seat slightly, shrieking somewhat in the process.

Meelo's big eyes dance before my own, bouncing around as he studies my surprised features with a renewed interest.

I frown at him, but out of the corner of my vision I can see Kai smiling his sweet, adorable, wide grin. I almost don't want to look back at Meelo and just focus on the boy next to me for the remainder of our trip but I know if I don't give Meelo the attention he so craves I will regret it. Rolling my eyes at him I cross my arms. "What is it now, Meelo?"

He squeezes my thighs with his little hands and offers me a chip-toothed grin. "Opal says we'll be landing soon!"

I sit up straighter, my once crossed arms quickly unfolding from over my chest. "Really?"

"Yeah!" he squeaks back, and even though I usually find his voice annoying right now it's actually not that bad. "Probably like in 15 minutes or somethin'." My little brother looks over his back and yells at the older girl in the cockpit. "How much longer again?"

"For the love of god, I already told you Meelo!" Opal responds, "like 15 minutes or something, okay? Just sit tight and let me worry about this."

Meelo smirks at me again, which I'm taking is because of his exact wording for the amount of time we'll finally reach our destination. Wherever or whichever part of Alaska that is. "See? Told ya!"

And after that Meelo bounds off again, somewhat like a little puppy ecstatic at the sound of their owner returning home. The small smile that forms on my face at his excitement I don't care to remove, instead I just glance at Kai, sharing with him the little grin I have going and then turn my gaze back out the window.

We're almost there. I'm gonna see Gran-gran and Korra soon, finally! I know it hasn't been that long without them, but hey - Kai told me when you love someone a lot, sometimes a small amount of time away from them can feel like an eternity. It's a weird kind of time/emotional paradox, in my opinion.

The sky outside has darkened into a sleek, blueish black, cradling the white moon in it with a tender hold. The moon seems so comfortable up there in the sky, just sitting - and the glow it gives off is radiant. It's almost as bright as the sun, but not quite as harsh and I'm thankful for that because if it was any brighter I'd be better off staring at Meelo's blinding smirk for the rest of the trip.

A small glistening catches my eyes, and looking through the window a bit more closely I notice it's coming from the wing of the jet. And no, I don't think it's a light or anything of the sort. It's a glinting kind of shine, birthing from the light of the celestial body floating in the sky. Only squinting do I realize what it is.

Ice.

"Umm, Opal?" I question, hoping my voice is somewhat heard over the joyous laughter of my siblings.

Instead Bolin's head pops out of the cockpit, an eyebrow raised. Seems like he might be the only one who heard me. "Yo, what's up Jin?"

I point outside the window. "Um, I kinda think we have some ice build-up on the wings. That's… not a good thing…" I trail off worriedly, getting up from my seat and quickly making my way over to the front of the jet, the place I've been ironically trying to avoid this entire trip due to its regular visits by my siblings.

"Jin-Jinora?" Bolin stutters hastily as he grabs Opal's shoulder and shakes it a few times. "Tell Opal what it is you're saying. I mean, I kinda get it b-"

"There's ice building up on the wings of the aircraft," I cut him off before he has time to finish ending his sentence. "I've read a few things about ice build-up on planes and other aircraft, it's not a good sign. We need to do something about this. It can cause serious -" I glance around and over my shoulder because for some reason I don't want my brother or sister to know. Kai obviously knows what's going on though, his worried green eyes peeking out timidly from underneath his choppy hair.

"Serious problems."

A moment of silence ensues between Opal and Bolin as they fix one another with a concerned stare, both thinking probably the exact same thing. Or both either having crazy images of our little stolen aircraft spiraling to the ground with godforsaken speed like a comet from outer space.

They're not wrong though.

"How much time do we have?" Opal asks me, looking more serious than she ever has this entire day.

I can't resist from frowning and shrugging somewhat crudely. I mean, how could things be going so well (come on, my hopes were up at the thought we'd be seeing Korra and Gran-gran again so soon!) and then suddenly it all plummets from there… Just my luck. Just _our_ luck. Now who knows if any of us will ever see them ever again. "I don't know, I mean who knows how long it's been there - I think we've gotta land this thing as soon as possible in order to prevent anything bad from happening. I'm not saying anything bad will happen, but we just don't know!" I sound exasperated, broken in an emotional manner. "It's the safest thing to do right now unless you know how to work this thing and get that ice off!"

Opal's fingers immediately flip downward a small black switch to her right before she declared to no one in particular, "I'm turning the HAG off… in, in preparation for landing…"

Bolin turns to her with worried green eyes and I swap my own gaze between the other two in the cockpit, hesitation and confusion written on both their faces. "That sounds kinda funny…" he mutters, trying not to begin chuckling and I elbow him in the shoulder while sending him a death glare. "Sorry."

"Tell the kids we've gotta prepare for landing - Imma do my best." Opal doesn't look at Bolin, instead her vibrant eyes are fixed on the handles of the jet's controls, a pale, ghastly white sinking into her knuckles as she grips them tightly in her hands.

Bolin nods and I slowly begin backing away, accidentally bumping into a blissfully ignorant Ikki in the process. She grabs my arm gently and stares at me, startled. "Jin… what's happening…?"

"Ikki, we've gotta get back to our seats," I tell her, carefully guiding her back over and Kai brings over Meelo as well.

I take a deep breath as I buckle up my little brother and Bolin makes an announcement over the intercom:

"We're gonna be landing soon due to some-" a pause, "unforeseen circumstances, so if you could please take your seats. We may be in for a bumpy ride."

I sit down beside Meelo and Ikki, Kai next to me on one side and my brother and sister on the other. Out of the corner of my eye I notice my hands trembling, and I stuff them under myself so that no one notices.

It probably doesn't matter though. It's eminent I'm afraid.

We all are.

* * *

The sky is beautiful.

I never would have thought that I'd get to see something so utterly amazing… But yet here I am, with my two long-lost cousins, on a bench in the middle of Alaska, watching the last of the northern lights shimmer and twirl, dissolving into starlight. It's no doubt one of the most magical sights I've ever seen…

I pull my knees up closer to my chest and take in a gulp of air. "Do you guys do this every year?" I ask, forgetting that they already answered my question earlier on today. Before I have time to speak up and vocalize my thoughts about the matter Eska mutters back a soft reply.

"No. This is the first time we've been here in years."

I turn towards her slightly, curiosity priming me to do so. The way her voice sounds - it's filled with nostalgia, but also something else.

"But even so each time we come here, no matter how long it's been, it never loses its beauty."

Smiling in the darkness, I nod, a warmth seeping into my chest. Yeah, I totally understand what she means. I kinda think maybe I - maybe I have something - no, someone… like that, in my life.

"Eska…" comes Desna from the other side of the table.

"What, brother...?"

He raises a hand to point to the sky, Eska and I immediately look in that direction - just to the right of us.

Strangely enough there appears to be a blinking light off in the distance, coming closer and closer. An airplane or something of the sort, most likely.

There's something off about it though…

I squint harder at the distant twinkle, wracking my brain for some sort of solution to the quaint yet prominent feature that seems so out of place. Then it strikes me like a lightning bolt. "It's… It looks like it's…. sinking." Is that even possible? Is it possible for an airplane to sink in the sky?

"And it's coming right toward us," Desna mentions, a hint of desperation in his voice.

I leap up from my spot on the table, landing in the snow with feet that are ready to run. "Oh crap." Looking at my cousins I'm astounded to see that they remain sitting. I grab Eska by the shoulder, shaking her slightly. "What the heck are you guys doing sitting here?! We've gotta go, run, what happens if that thing crashes into us or something?"

The light in the sky grows closer by the second and now I can hear the muted roaring of the engines as they whir. Like I had presumed, the aircraft does seem to be sinking in a manner and losing altitude, because it sure as heck right now is at least half of the height it was less than a minute ago in the sky.

This is not good, not good at all.

"We should see what happens and where it lands, should we not?" Eska quips maturely and with the tiniest bit of urgency, enough to make me hesitate on my choice of running off as fast as my feet can carry me in this 6 inch snow surrounding the three of us for miles around. I guess I probably won't get very far anyways.

My eyes flick between the ever-growing light in the sky, which is frighteningly close by now, and my two cousins who have now gotten off of the bench and are standing by my side, far more intrigued in the thought of seeing where this plane lands than I am.

"Follow us."

Suddenly I'm grabbed by my arm and watch helplessly as Eska pulls me away, her brother ahead as we hustle off towards the side of the lake. I try to move quickly but the thick layer of snow beneath my feet slows me down, only feeding my annoyance and fright.

Looking up again toward the sky, the plane is within clear sight, a small, thin piece of aircraft that looks horribly suited for this kind of environment - something on the wings glistens, and my heart runs at full speed in my chest while I hear the hum of the plane get closer and closer, as well as increasingly lower in the sky.

It will land at any second now. Any second.

I don't know why but my eyes flinch close before I hear any impact, a loud crashing following not even two seconds after as the ground shakes with the sudden added weight of a fallen man-made miracle of flight.

Eska tugs me back again and I lose my footing, stumbling into the snow as my eyes fly open and I see a wave of white being upset by the crash shoot into the air. The small plane continues rushing forward from its landing spot not too far away, skidding through the snow at a horrifying speed, and my heart drops as it finds its way onto the frozen lake.

No.

Inside it's brightly lit, and I catch the faint shadows of a group of people, but they are rushing by too fast for me to get a good look. The only thing I know about them is that they're probably scared out of their minds…

The plane reaches the side of the lake where my cousins and I are, a few hundred feet away. It groans and creaks as it plunges into a heap of piled up snow collected at the bank, a small wave of relief floods me before disappearing instantaneously.

The three of us hear a spine-tingling crack. My stomach drops at the sound.

Ice wedges shoot up from the water like rearing whales, sucking in the tail of the aircraft with a hunger that can't be appeased. A horrible slurping noise escapes the water as it attempts to drown the metal hull of the small plane, I push myself up from the ground and surrounding snow, lurching forward as I begin making my way toward the plane.

What am I doing...?

"Korra!" Eska and Desna call out, but I ignore them and continue running toward the gaping hole in the ice. Heart-wrenching shrieks and shouts fill the air, rivaled only by the hammering in my ears as blood rushes throughout my chilled body.

The closer I get I notice a door has opened up on the side of the plane, and a few people have begun jumping out, landing in the powdered snow shelved on top of the frozen ice that has begun to start separating. They'd better get out, because if they don't that plane is going to sink into the water, under the lake and it's going to be impossible to escape then…

My labored breathing forms clouds that trail lazily behind me like wispy clouds. I pump my arms faster, doing my best to reach the plane through this agonizing amount of snow I have to trudge through. Finally, my feet meet the ice and the layer of snow here is somewhat thinner. I tread through the powder quickly but carefully as to not cause any more cracks - I should be able to cross this pretty easily, seeing as I'm not as heavy as this metal plane that crashed into the frozen body of water.

In a matter of a few seconds I've found my way around the ginormous puddle of open, freezing water, having been extremely careful not to fall in myself. Another long, strangled warble of ice and water swallowing another ten feet of the plane sends me into panic mode once again, and I quickly make my way over to the small group of people huddled near the edge of the shattered ice.

"Do you need help? Is everyone out?" I call out to the figures, and one turns around, shock immediately surging through my body as I come face to face with Opal, her features twisted with worry.

"K-Korra..? Oh my god!" Running up to me she grabs my shoulders, eyes wide with fear. "Korra, we've gotta do something - when the plane crashed the back end began sinking, and we-we were trying to get out-" Nodding at her words I urge her to continue, glancing up at the aircraft for a split second then scanning the surrounding people on the ice; Kai and Ikki- "But then it started falling back and Meelo was sent tumbling toward the bottom, Bolin and Jinora are still in there, trying to get him out! I-I was told to help Kai and Ikki but-"

Pushing past Opal I make my way towards the doorway of the plane, and I can hear her calling my name as she follows up again beside me. "Korra, what are you doing?!"

"Trying to figure out how to save them! What else am I supposed to do?!" My voice is harsh and panicked, I don't know how it can be any other tone at this point in time. Useless ideas race in and out of my mind as I try and figure out what to do, the plane is sinking more with every second and if we don't come up with something quick it's going to be buried under all of that black, freezing water.

Something hits me in the side of the leg, striking me out of my thoughts and I look down to see Eska's backpack, covered slightly in snow. A few feet off I see my cousin hobbling towards me weakly, panting heavily as she comes to a stop. "K-Korra! There's-There's a rope in there, use it to get your friends out…"

Without spending another second more I begin searching through the backpack to find exactly what I'm looking for, a long, heavy duty length of rope. I toss the bag to the ground and hand Opal one end of it while I unravel the rest, tossing one end into the lighted entrance of the plane. "Opal, I'm gonna head in there! Keep hold of the rope, ask Ikki and Kai to help you - I'm going in."

"Korra, wait!"

Ignoring Opal, I take a few steps back, plotting out a good means of entrance with my mind, this foot there, that foot there, then jump and grab a hold onto the edge of the doorway, pull myself up-

The plane lurches one more time and sputters up more water like the lake is coughing, scaring me for a moment but not enough to keep me from attempting to help rescue my friends. I barely register my movements while performing them perfectly, just the way I thought of in my mind, the last step me grabbing helplessly onto the edge of the entrance's rim as my feet dangle over a small but soon to be larger expanse of black water. Pulling myself up, I disappear over the edge and immediately fall down into the plane as it continues to slope downward, barely managing to snag hold of a row of seats.

"Korra?!"

Looking down I see Bolin with Meelo under his arm, lifting the little boy up. Jinora's at the very rear of the plane with the both of them as the three do their best to clamber up what appears to be a large bar counter.

A length of the rope I have previously tossed through the entryway dangles down to me and I pull on it, tugging it a few times to makes sure that it's stable - sure enough it is, Opal must be holding on to it from the other side with the others. "Give me more rope!" I exclaim loudly and am quickly answered with the loosening of the line. I tug on it again to make sure it's stable, and then I use it to jump down off the side of the plane's walls. The surrounding aircraft around us lurches one more time, Meelo and Jin shriek so I quickly drop down onto the counter to the rest of them, making sure to keep a hand on the rope as I help pull them up.

"Korra!" Bolin smiles warmly, and I crack a small grin. "I can't believe it's you!"

"Me neither," I chuckle, but then the plane creaks again.

Water begins to trickle in from the entrance and I hand him the rope, choosing not to look back at the water cascading down the sides and quickly filling up the bottom of the plane. The frigid liquid pools below us, making our feet wet and quickly continues rising. "Here, take this! You get Meelo, I'll help Jin!"

Heaving Meelo up onto his back like he's giving him a piggyback ride, Bolin nods and seizes the rope, lifting himself upwards as he climbs in a manner similar to the way I had made my way down.

I turn back towards Jinora and extend my hand, doing my best to smile gently even though I'm completely terrified. "Come on Jinora, we've gotta get out of here."

She looks at me with unblinking eyes, like the ones of a deer caught in the headlights of an incoming car. I notice her shaking. She manages to nod slowly, taking a step forward right as the plane groans one last time and the water floods in finally like it would for a broken dam, sending the both of us falling back into the rear of the craft and deeper into the bone-chilling water.

"Korra!" she manages to call out before water closes in over the both of our heads, and suddenly everything is ten shades darker as water clouds my view. Through the darkness I see her pale form and reach out to grab her flailing arm, pulling her up to my chest. My heart beats fast on the inside of my ribcage full-throttle, knowing this will probably be one of my last moments.

But not Jinora's though, if I can help it.

Kicking against the water I push upwards, scared to see the front of the plane getting closer and closer as water continues to fill up whatever nook and cranny it can. Jinora begins to feel heavy in my arms, I kick harder, catching view of the exit on the right side of the plane as it rushes toward us with the sinking aircraft. I don't know how but I manage to push off the closest row of seats and force us through the gap, narrowly seizing our chance to escape. Behind the two of us I can feel a strong pressure try to suck me and Jinora deeper under the swirling black water, and my heart threatens to burst with the force of energy I'm exuding with the limited amount of oxygen I inhaled before the water began flooding in.

The plane sinks faster than I would expected and the tugging force of suction weakens just enough for me to kick a few more times, propelling myself and Jinora toward the surface. I can feel her legs kick too - she pushes me away and takes my hand, pulling me upwards.

I can't see the gaping hole in the ice that the plane had made, even though I know by reason it's gotta be directly above our heads. I kick a few more times as I wonder when we'll ever get back to the surface. It's been too long, I think the repercussions of the lack of oxygen have started to gnaw at my brain because suddenly things seem much more dark than they did originally, and my heartbeat begins to slow to a weak lull.

Something similar sounding to my name echoes through the water, and I don't even bother trying to figure out who or what is calling out to me.

My grip on Jin's hand slips as my limbs turn numb, the freezing water finally getting to me.

My eyelids begin to flutter close. Jin does her best to reach out for my hand one last time before I let the cold and darkness swallow me whole…

* * *

 **well, whaddya all think? i don't expect much feedback because i've been kinda on and off with this story, but whoever is able to review i greatly appreciate it. :) thank you to all of you who left reviews during the past months, it makes me glad to know people are still enjoying this story. ^^**

 **this next coming chapter will be the last installment, so i hope you're all looking forward to it! it's already finished, just needs to be beta'd, so it should be up fairly soon. also many hugs and kisses to the amazinggggggg Pro Assassin, she's been the best beta evaaaa :D**

 **see you all soon!**


	37. Chapter 37

**The End… Or Maybe the Beginning**

"Korra… You know why I love you...right?"

I look up from my math homework to rest my chin on my hand, a lopsided grin forming on my lips. I fix Asami with a playful stare and wiggle my eyebrows up and down, chuckling. "Why?" I ask, not sure exactly why she's bringing it up right now, but I don't mind. How could I? "Is it because I'm uber hot? Cause I have an amazing Pyrenees? Maybe because you have an obsession with dorks?" I laugh as my head lolls to the side. "It's gotta be one of those things, don't know what else it would be."

Asami shakes her head, raven locks tumbling into her line of sight before she tucks them away safely behind an ear. "Well… I do like those things about you," she drawls with a chuckle, and my grin grows a tad bit wider. "But it isn't because of any of those."

I pause from my work and look up at her, sitting cross legged on the other side of the bed a bit like a Buddha statue and gently smiling back at me. "Then… why is it? You've got me curious now," I flirt, biting down on the end of my mechanical pencil.

Asami laughs and rolls her eyes. "Cause you like me for me. Not because of my money or my fame or because of my world-renowned last name. You like me because I'm Asami. The girl who loves to tinker in the garage, help you with your homework when you have trouble, and steal your chow mein when you aren't looking." At her last little joke, she winked at me.

I snort and narrow my eyes at Asami. "Oh yeah, you're always taking my food - thief."

At that Asami chuckles again, then she falls back into silence for a few seconds before adding, "I could say the same for you - stole my heart, y'know?"

Suddenly my homework doesn't seem as important anymore and the numbers in the textbook are consumed by a nervous anxiety as I blush, turning my head away slightly in hopes that Asami won't see me getting all embarrassed.

"N-No I didn't…"

"Mhm, you definitely did," Asami mutters softly. I can feel her tender gaze sinking into me. "You're perfect for me."

I bite my lip as I try to think of what to say, my mind racing. Asami's kinda mentioned this before a few times, but the more she says it the more I think she really means it… And every time she mentions it, it makes me astonishingly adorkable. When in reality I'd much rather play it cool and say something sexy or confident on my behalf. Only thing in the way of making that wish come true is my brain; which turns to mush every time she says something heartfelt.

Curse you, inner Korra sentiment.

I manage to glance up finally, somehow I've worked up enough bravery to look Asami directly in the eyes. Those pretty, mesmerizing green eyes of hers.

Smiling up at her I take a deep breath, coaxing the words that I should have said many times before out of my throat, finally. All those things she's done for me: fixing my car the very first time we met, waiting for me at swim practice, helping me with homework, making me smile, making me laugh… making me love. Learning to love someone, for the very first time.

Life is so different when that happens. It's - it's a feeling I never want to lose.

"You're perfect for me too, Asami."

* * *

…

…

…

…

 _Beep. Beep. Beep._

…

…

 _Beep beep. Beep beep-_

I'm sleeping, aren't I?

Why am I sleeping?

My eyelids feel like lead weights as I do the best I can to open them, blinding white light seeps in and the best I can do is squint. Tears from the harsh light form at the corners of my eyes, and I blink a few times. I try to move my hand but it's tough - I manage to curl a few of my fingers, but everything else just hurts. My chest especially. It feels like I just woke up after being pummelled in the torso for three hours non-stop, in other words - it was extremely difficult to breath.

My guess, with what little reason I have after just waking up no more than a minute ago, is that I'm in the hospital… But why...?

Things are fuzzy until memories of dark water and various people calling out my name surge into my mind in a torrent, and suddenly I can remember everything that happened. The plane that my friends were on - it crashed. And then - and then Opal, and Jinora and the rest of them - wait a minute-

Jinora!

I try to sit up but it's painfully obvious I jerked too quickly, which proves to be a task I'm not able to perform because my chest burns and my head falls back onto the pillow helplessly.

Jinora… Jinora, what happened to Jinora?! No no no no Jinora, I was trying to save her but then I blacked out-

"Jin… Jinora…" The words echo throughout the room without direction.

Then I hear something rustle beside my bed and my eyes float to a figure sitting beside me, one I didn't notice before but was most likely there the entire time. A dark curtain of hair is pushed away to the side by a pale hand, and when a familiar pair of bright green eyes and full lips peek out sleepily from behind, I can't help but crack a smile.

They flutter open slowly, unaware of what's happening and I stare back for a moment before they blink rapid fire and the girl sitting in the chair beside me sits upright, clearly awake now. Nothing can stop the small smile that begins to grow on my face.

"Korra..! You're - You're alright!"

Before I have time to confirm that I am indeed okay, I'm enveloped in a large bear hug. My chest heaves slowly (still aching, unfortunately) as Asami brings me in for one of the biggest embraces I've ever experienced. I wrap my arms weakly around her and close my eyes for a short moment before she pulls away to look at me worriedly. "I can't believe it! You're alright!" she says, a little breathless, a sad pained smile on her face.

It's then that I realize something's wrong - it must have been all the stupid and reckless things I've done recently, to make her seem a bit off. I study her for a minute and come to the conclusion that something doesn't seem right in her beautiful green eyes. It's almost as if… Almost as if she's scared, frightened of something. Could it be me who she's scared of?

"Asami… what is it? Why are you looking at me like that…?" I ask slowly, my voice hoarse and scratchy, making me wince. I've allowed my head to rest back on the pillow, seeing as I'm don't have enough strength yet to fully hold myself up. My chest still hurts like hell and now I'm starting to feel my head begin to ache as well. Fingers crossed that I'm really worrying about something real instead of just delirious from being half-conscious or suffering from hypothermia.

Asami's smile shrinks, settling itself into a tight line as she fixes me with that worried gaze of hers. "Korra… You - You died."

I _what…_?

"Wh-what are you talking about, Asami..?"

"...You died, Korra. Trying to rescue Jinora. You were dead for a few hours, it was as miracle that you were able to make it back in time to a hospital to be revived."

"What the…"

"After you were in the water with Jinora and trying to make it back to the surface, Opal went in after you. She was able to get the both of you out with Bolin's help. A nearby group of locals saw the plane crash and alerted an emergency rescue team… They were able to get you and the others to a hospital, but you had - you had been dead for over an hour."

I can only stare at Asami, wide-eyed.

"Your skin and vital organs had lost too much heat, and lack of oxygen to your brain had caused it to shut the rest of your body down… but you weren't completely brain dead. When they got you here they warmed you up as best as they could, as well as removing the water that was in your lungs. I don't know what else they did, but somehow that was enough to bring you back…." Asami mumbles through tears, and then she wraps her arms around me again and to pull me into another hug, this one more gentle than the other. "I-I can't believe I almost lost you…"

Somehow, most likely because of seeing Asami in such a broken state, I gather up enough strength to move my arm, I place my hand on her head and begin to stroke her soft, black hair as soothingly as I can.

"S'okay, Asami… I'm-I'm here now…" Oh my god… I can't believe she's had to go through this, and all because of me. It's all my fault.

A question pops into my mind, and gently sifting my fingers through her silky hair I bring it up, slightly curious. "W-Wait a minute… How are you here..? Thought you were in Japan…?" My words are slow and slightly slurred, but it's the best I can do for now. Though mixed with my scratchy voice I probably sound like an old man with bad asthma, at the best.

Asami squeezes me tightly one last time before pulling back a bit to smile softly at me, the gesture lifting my heart a tiny bit and making me feel better about myself. "It's a bit strange in a way… I kind of had a dream something bad was going to happen, but my hunch wasn't proven true until I got the call that you were in the hospital. I came back as soon as I could… So did your parents. Tenzin and Pema are here too, along with Katara and your uncle and your cousins." She chuckles lightly, blowing back a strand of stray hair that was dangling in front of her face. "Pretty much everyone is, though some are waiting elsewhere." With a nod of her head to my right, I weakly turn my head to the side, grinning when I see my parents and Katara fast asleep in chairs they must have brought in here, lined up against the wall of the hospital room.

"And Jinora…? Are she and the others alright?" I croak.

"She's here as well. She would have died if it wasn't for you, Korra…" Asami mentions, voice soft but full of emotion and gratitude. "Jinora has the room right next door to yours, actually… Her family is there with her. She's fine, just a bit on the cold side," Asami offers me a small lopsided smile. "Opal and the others are fine as well. Bo and Ope are tough cookies - didn't get their own hospital beds, but that's because they didn't end up in as bad condition as you or Jinora." She chuckles again, and I do too but end up in a small coughing fit that Asami tries to soothe by patting me lightly on the back.

When it dies down, I smile up at my girlfriend. "I still can't believe you came back. You were finally living your dream, being one of those crazy-smart tech brainiacs and preaching your genius gospel, helping people." Being useful, unlike me.

"No, not really…" Asami slides a hand to the side of my face and carefully plays with my short hair, rubbing it between her fingers as she gazes at me lovingly. "Being with you is my dream, more than anything else. That other one was just a side dream," she mutters with a tinge of hilarity, waving her free hand weakly in the process.

There's more heartfelt seriousness to the statement than anything, and it causes blood to rush to my cheeks slowly but surely. "Oh stop it..." I blush, feeling twin pools of heat begin to rise to my face.

"Never." She grins somewhat mischievously, scrunching up her nose in the most adorable manner and pretending to sneer.

I sigh happily and bask in the glowing warmth of Asami's tender affection for a few moments until something I probably should have told her in person before all of this happened rises to the surface in my mind, bobbing at the top of my thoughts like a buoy.

"Asami, I'm so sorry I left…" I feel horrible… Apologizing seems like all I've been doing to her recently, and it shouldn't be. Asami deserves better than that.

Her brows knit together quickly. "Oh Korra, no no, it's alri-"

"No it's not," I say, cutting her off. "It's not alright. I-I left because I wanted to find myself, find something I was good at. Seeing you being really creative and wanting to bring your inventions to life to help others, to live your dream - it made me jealous. I wanted that kind of drive, to find my purpose, just like you did."

Taking a minute to pause, I search Asami's green eyes darting back and forth ever so slightly as she tries to understand what I mean.

I'm not sure if it's by looking into her deep emerald eyes, the both of us searching for meaning in our words and each other, but something inside my mind clicks together, like two puzzle pieces finally finding each other. Just like that, instantaneously. It surprises me quite a bit - was it supposed to be this easy? Was everything that I went through up until this moment meant to occur for me to come to this exact thought?

If so, it took me a crapload of time to figure out for myself (which isn't really anything new). But… But I think I finally understand.

"I don't know when it happened, but right after my - my accident… I dreamt of you. Maybe I was dead. Maybe I was alive. I don't know. I just know that it happened," taking a deep breath I prompt myself to continue, "But my dream, it was a memory. A memory of us."

I reach my hand up to gently grab hold of Asami's own, the one that was absentmindedly playing with my hair while I was speaking. I hold it tight, not wanting to let go. "I think-I think that you're my reason for wanting to get better, for wanting to improve and find purpose- your friendship and love means the world to me. And I don't ever want to lose you. I almost did, and I promise you, I never want that to happen again." Squeezing her hand softly within my own I form the brightest smile on my face that I can muster with what strength I have. "I think my place… My purpose...is to be by your side, Asami."

Having ended voicing my thoughts Asami begins to cry softly, I move in to hold her, gently running my hands through her hair again. I feel somewhat better having finally come to that conclusion, and everything seems to make sense. My purpose is to be here for Asami, and for everyone else, for all my friends and family - Jinora, Opal, Bo, Katara, everyone. Of course, life will continue throwing curveballs my way, it always has. But that's no reason to give up. And why would I give up if I have Asami with me, and everyone else's nonstop love and support?

There's a warm glow that has started to simmer gently inside my chest, numbing the stinging sensation that was crawling up my throat and on the lining of my lungs. The sensation feels good, and I smile to myself, proud of what I've been through and how far I've come through everything, ever since meeting Asami. Everything works out for good in the end, even if it may not seem like it early on.

We stay that way for a while, when Asami's quiet sobbing ebbs away into the occasional hiccup I brush aside a few locks of her hair to whisper something into her ear, hoping to see that smile of hers once again. "Asami, wanna spend Christmas together?"

She lifts her head up from my neck, cheeks stained with the shiny but faint trails of drying tears. "Of course I do, dork," she laughs, a hiccup escaping in the process, making me giggle and her blush. "I can't think of anyone else I'd rather spend it with."

"Good... because now that we're spending Christmas together, I'm gonna ask Bo if he can find some mistletoe, seeing as there's so many couples this year: you and me, Ope and Bo, Kai and Jin, Mako and Wu..."

Asami's soft laughter is enough to make me stop and take a breather to insert some of my own chuckling. "Korra, the last two I'm not even sure are legitimate couples yet..?" She runs the back of her hand under one eye and grins at me, shaking her head in mock disappointment.

"Oh who cares, as long as there's a mistletoe over their heads they gotta kiss."

"You're horrible."

"But you love it."

Soft lips are pressed onto mine for a short moment before pulling away, me not having enough time to really enjoy it. Which is kinda a bummer if you know what I mean.

I pretend to pout and Asami grins, sending a wink as she blows a kiss my way. "Damn right I do."

Sticking out my bottom lip further, I pretend to huff. "Nurseeeeee… I have a problematic guest..." I call out just loudly enough to prompt Asami to lurch forward and cover my mouth with her hands.

"Shhhh, be quiet! Don't make them kick me out," she whispers, a playful twinkle in her eyes. It ignites a similar spark in my own and I glance my parents' and Katara's way quickly before turning my gaze back to Asami.

"Fine, kiss me again then and I won't have them kick you out," I smirk devilishly, causing Asami to groan and roll her eyes. A short burst of laughter escapes me and I bite down on my bottom lip. She eyes me for a moment and then her small smile turns up into a grin as she begins to lean in again, breath warm against my cold cheek. I tilt my head in her direction and before our lips meet once again, her smile parts to deliver me a few words.

"I love you, Korra…"

"I love you too…" I murmur softly, our lips carefully meeting not a second after.

* * *

 **six months later**

* * *

"Korra Korra Korra!"

Something warm and bouncy topples over and over on top of me, playful fingers wandering to and fro down my sides. And then there's another small bundle of terror, making the total count not one but two boisterous and slightly annoying things.

Things, which could also be called kids.

But I love 'em anyways.

Cracking open one eye, I pretend to remain asleep, even though it's almost midday. It's summer and Tenzin and Pema have dropped off the kids again (minus Rohan, who was just born earlier this year) to go visit his brother Bumi. I know the kids love Bumi, because I definitely do, but they thought it'd be a handful having to lug four of them around everywhere. No offense, children.

"I LIVEEEEEEE!" I yell, quickly sitting up with both arms outstretched like a zombie, causing Ikki and Meelo to squeal in delight. "AND I WILL EAT YOU ALL FOR MY LUNCH!" I manage to get a hold of Meelo and the two of us tumble out of my bed, laughing and wrestling as he wriggles in my arms while Ikki clambers onto my back and gets me in a body scissor hold (yes, I do let them watch UFC and MMA but maybe now it's proving to be a mistake).

"Die die die!" she laughs shrilly and I lick her hand with a smug grin plastered onto my face, the act immediately causing her to fall back onto the carpet as she lets go. "Ewwww, you licked me!"

"I lick who I want, jick," I smirk back at her, skillfully maintaining a wild Meelo in my grasp.

There's a knock on the wall on the outside of my door and the three of us look up to see Asami and Jinora standing side by side, mixed expressions of disappointment and amusement on their faces.

Jinora crosses her arms. "What in the world do you three think you're doing?"

"Uhhhh," Ikki and Meelo both look to me while I try to think of a suitable answer, though it's more likely that I won't be able to think of a decent excuse. "We're um, we're… We're practicing our dance routine. Just got a bit tangled up after Meelo did a stage dive from the bed," I sneer and prod Meelo in his little shaven head with my knuckle, laughing as I give home a noogie.

"Did not!" he giggles, and I look back up at the duo standing in the doorway.

Asami offers me a gentle smile. She looks remarkably beautiful today, her hair up in a loose ponytail, away from her face. It's like it allows her natural beauty to shine more, if you get what I mean?

"I hope you didn't forget our date today, right?" Asami says, biting down on her lip and sending a wink my way. I almost forget to breath before shaking my head no in response, Meelo slipping through my fingers as he crawls away toward Naga who's lying down patiently on the floor.

"Uh, no! No I didn't, how could I?" I laugh, scratching the back of my neck in embarrassment. Asami and Jinora exchange a knowing look and I frown slightly, knowing they totally don't buy my gig. Which doesn't come as a surprise.

"Get up then, Silly." Asami waves a hand at me and I blush slightly due to the embarrassment of almost having forgotten the event happening soon "Don't wanna be late for our date, do you?"

"Your quadruple date!" Ikki shouts, pirouetting around me and then out toward the door like a ballerina with an adrenaline high.

"Yep, quadruple date!" Meelo repeats and I roll my eyes, chuckling slightly as I get up from the floor and make my way toward my closet. "Opal said she was gonna be here soon, right Asami?"

"Mhm," comes the hum of agreement from my girlfriend, and the little noise makes me rush just a teeny bit faster at the thought of Opal dropping by to pick us up and finding out that I am still up in my room trying to find an outfit. She'd laugh and roll her eyes, saying 'Oh, that's so Korrie, tsk tsk," and it'd make me want to strangle her.

But anyways, a little explanation. 'Quadruple date', you've probably never heard of it? Neither had I, until like, last week. Asami and I were hanging out with Bo and Ope when all of a sudden Bolin comes up with the bright idea for all of us to go out a 'quadruple date', so we can all spend time with each other since 'we're all together'? Honestly it sounded like a wacky idea to me, but it elicited excited nods from both Asami and Opal, and I couldn't help but go along with it. So yeah, there's four couples..? Me and Asami, Opal and Bolin, Mako and Wu (even though Mako denies with a ferocity comparable to that of a rabid wolf's that he and Wu are as a matter of fact NOT dating…anywho, even if they're not they're getting dragged along with us for this), and last but not least, Jin and Kai. It was pretty obvious the two of them had crushes on each other and it made my heart melt when the two of them decided to go forth with their feelings for each other a little after Christmas by telling Tenzin and Pema. It also might be due to the dirty work of the mistletoe Bo and I were causing to magically sprout around every inch of my house… Guess we'll never know for sure.

But yeah. That's the quadruple date. And we're supposed to be going to the beach, if I remember correctly… It actually might be the only reasonable option, seeing as it's summer. It's a bit of a drive, but it'll be worth it. And also seeing as I'm babysitting, Meelo and Ikki - oh yeah, and Naga! - are all coming along to spend the day.

The rest of the gang slowly begins to exit the room and head back downstairs while I pack my swimsuit and extra clothes and underwear. Jinora and the kids already came prepared, and Asami's always on top of it so it's pretty much just me who's the only one who still has a bit of preparing to do…

 _HONK!_

A loud car horn blares outside and I stumble over to my window, peering out to see if it's Opal. Cause if it is then yep, she's gonna laugh her butt off at me. That and give me a really hard lecture about how she can't believe how thoughtless I can be.

Instead I see a large but fancy white van, which isn't at all Opal's car - and then two heads popping out of either side of the driver area, one Wu's in the driver's seat waving excitedly up at me and then Mako beside him with a crooked grin, an expression you don't see on him too often. It's a good sign.

The window behind Mako rolls down to expose my friend Opal, and she immediately looks up at me and clasps her hands around her mouth to holler, "KORRA! GET YO' BUTT DOWN HERE! WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE LEAVING!"

Oh crap, knew she was gonna be mad as hell!

Fishing out the rest of my supplies, a towel, sunscreen, the works - I dash down the stairs with Naga right behind me, just in time to see Jinora and her siblings skipping down the steps toward our Krew's white van.

"Where'd you get the sick ride?" I hear Meelo ask Mako while Opal helps load Jinora's and Ikki's stuff into the back.

"Wu got it for us."

Meelo does those awkward, dorky finger guns and I try to suppress a laugh.

The door on the side of the van slides open wider until I can see Bolin and Kai, waving at Jinora with matching gleeful looks on their faces as she hops in and takes a seat beside them with Ikki not too far behind.

Naga's big fuzzy head nuzzles into my thigh and I look down, grinning broadly. "Hey girl, you ready to hit the beach?" Her tail wags excitedly and she bounds out the door, almost tackling an unsuspecting Opal who scolds her slightly before allowing my dog to attack her again, this time with slobbery kisses.

I smile fondly at the scene of my friends outside, the people laughing and smiling. Who knew I'd still be alive to be here today. I could have died half a year ago, and lost everything, everyone…

But I didn't, and there has to be a reason why I didn't. I think it's that reason I mentioned to Asami after waking up in the hospital bed, after seeing her worried, perturbed eyes searching mine with an anxious fervor.

It's to be here with these guys, these dorks. To be here for her.

"You ready, Korra?"

A gentle hand brushes my arm and the girl who I love slips her hand into my open palm. That caring smile on her face, those vibrant green eyes of hers, the carefree laugh that makes my heart skip a beat - I wouldn't give those away or up for anything in the world.

I nod and lean in to place a soft kiss to her cheek, grinning wide.

"Yeah, I'm ready."

* * *

 **and that, my friends, is the end. ^^**

 **i am actually really proud i was able to stick with this story until the time i saw fit for it to be finished... i hope i didn't disappoint anyone. i know some of you were probably hoping for more chapters and adventures feat. korra and asami and the rest of the krew, and tbh i could have done that. but then the story would have dragged on more than it has already, and probably with no real distinguishable plot. i tried the best i could to give it a good ending, hoping it had enough twists and turns along the way to make it seem somewhat interesting. i am a bit ashamed to say that i am not very good at creating plot, so it would have been hard for me to stretch out the story in a way that made it have more substantial, if ya get what i mean.**

 **i hope that even so it was a good read, and that you all enjoyed it. thank you soooooo much everyone, i really appreciate all of you who actually were able to and made an effort to read the entire thing! you're all amazing, i swear, and i couldn't have done it without you. a big hug and kisses to all of you along with my beta Pro Assassin, you are all the best and i'm very glad to have had you all along on this journey with me. :)**

 **take care everyone!**

 **\- azuki rose**


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